


Beauty and the Beast

by sometimesafangirl



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Character Interpretation, Alternate Universe, F/M, LiveJournal Prompt, Original Character(s), Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-05 21:10:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 101
Words: 44,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sometimesafangirl/pseuds/sometimesafangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A set of 101 different stories that all go together for an old livejournal fanfic challenge community. (info here: http://sometimesafangirlwrites.tumblr.com/kisses) Each chapter tackles a different topic, but as different as they'll be, they'll be in chronological order. Different perspectives and POVs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. High and Low

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place before Aerith's death in the main game.  
> 2 - Four of Diamonds

Aerith sat on the bar, swinging her legs and leaning back on her hands as she watched the boys finish off another bottle. She glanced at the clock; it was well past midnight, and yet there they were, still going. The bartender sat behind the counter and watched the spectacle as well. Occasionally he chuckled, but Aerith assumed it was because Cid almost fell out of his chair or Cloud actually fell out of his. 

Tifa and Yuffie left at least an hour ago, leaving Aerith to watch over them: a task she really wasn't comfortable with. Tifa was much better suited to handle the rabble than she was. 

"Aerith, sweetie, bring us 'nother." Cid slurred and turned in his chair to grin at her. 

"Nope." She shook her head and smiled at him. "Absolutely not. You're cut off."

"Feh. That ain't no fun. Spoilsport." The pilot snorted and turned back around to his drunken companions and slammed a deck of cards on the table. "s'play a game, since the princess ain't no fun." He dealt out cards: one to each of them. 

"I'm not your mother." Aerith muttered when she hopped off her perch on the bar and walked to their table. "I'm not cleaning up after you if you all get sick." She reached for their empty bottles.

Cid smirked. "High or Low. Winner kisses the princess."

"What?" She started to back away from the table.

Barret smirked and grabbed her arm. It didn't hurt, but despite his inebriation, there was no way she was going to be able to wrench her arm free. "C'mon now. Don'cha wanna kiss any of us?"

"You 're all drunk!" Aerith tried to wrench her arm away, but she couldn't. "Don't be mean! Barret let me go!"

Vincent stepped out of the shadows and to the table, which startled Cloud enough to knock him off his chair again. He frowned and rested his metal hand on the table. "Stop." He leveled his gaze at Cid before his eyes moved to Barret. "Just let her go."

"You ain't allowed to object when yer playin' too." Cid tossed him a card. "Flip 'em boys." He flipped his own over and smirked. "Ten."

Red nosed his card until it flipped. "Damn, five for me." He chuckled and winked at Aerith. "Too bad."

Barret let go of Aerith and cussed. "Two. Damnit!"

Cloud pulled himself up from the floor and showed his card. "Queen. I win!" He looked at Aerith and grinned a little. But when he put both of his hands on the table to push himself up so he could walk to her, he fell back to the floor again and started to laugh.

Aerith whimpered and started to back towards the door. She jumped when Vincent's hand came down on the table hard enough shake the glasses and topple two of the bottles. "I won." He said and moved to stand between Barret and Aerith. 

"Then you gotta collect, man." Barret grinned. "We all gotta see it."

Vincent looked between the men and Aerith, whose cheeks were a darker shade of pink than her dress. He shrugged and took one of her hands, bowing his head over it and placing a soft kiss to her knuckles before he let go and turned back to the men. "No more of these stupid games. Leave her alone." 

Again, Aerith started backing towards the door. Her cheeks burned more after Vincent had kissed her hand, and she could swear that the others could hear her heart thudding in her chest. Vincent turned towards her and nodded once, as if to tell her it was okay for them to leave. 

It wasn't until he escorted her out the door that Cid flipped over Vincent's card and let out a curse that would make a sailor blush. "Valentine! You cheater! Ain't no way a four o' diamonds beats a queen!"

Vincent just shrugged as the door closed behind them.


	2. Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place during the main game.  
> 57 - Farewell

They were too late.

Sephiroth's lips twisted into a gloating little smirk as he pulled his blade from her body. Aerith slumped forward, lifeless and cold, blood oozing from the hole in her chest.

Vincent stared. What else could he have done? Fighting at this point was inevitable, but he didn't move. 

He didn't move when it was over, when Cloud picked up Aerith's body and let her sink into the lake, when the water brushed over her lips; one last kiss before she disappeared in the depths. He just stared. 

Cid put a hand on his shoulder, gripping it a bit as he yanked him enough to pull him out of his daze, but he kept watching the lake, even as they walked away. He let the pilot guide him along until the water and the trees were out of sight.

Vincent bowed his head and clenched his metal hand, vowing silently to himself: Sephiroth needed to be stopped. There had to be an end to this. He would see to it, for her sake. His final farewell.


	3. Silent Vigil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post game/pre Advent-Children  
> 46 - Loneliness

They all left, now that the threat was over. I don't blame them, though. None of them know I'm still here. I think they may have sensed something when White flashed, but otherwise, I doubt they even think of the possibility. There's still something I need to do, though, and I don't have the energy to warn them. Sephiroth is still here somewhere, and there's something else wrong. I feel it in Midgar, but there's nothing I can do now.

Nothing I can do but watch and try to regain my strength to at least warn them. Cloud would be the easiest to get to, since I know he still feels guilty about my death. 

But Cloud never comes. He won't unless someone drags him here, and I understand that. The only one who comes here is Vincent, though this is the first time he's stayed more than a few moments. 

He sits at the edge of the pool, staring down into the water and sighing. It worries me, and I know I should do something about it, but what can I do? I know why he sits there; he sits there for the same reason he goes back to that cave. He's torturing himself. He's suffering and blaming himself for events he couldn't control. He blames himself for Lucrecia, for Sephiroth, and now for me. 

So here he sits, day in and day out, staring down at his own reflection as if it will heal some of the pain he feels, that he's been feeling as long as he can remember.

Would he still sit here if he knew I watch him?

I don't have the energy to show myself to him, but I'm not entirely sure that would be beneficial anyway. It may just bring him more pain, and that's the last thing I want. It might also prove to him that I'm dead, and I'm not coming back. 

I'm a ghost, but should ghosts be able to feel pain?

Weeks pass and he still doesn't move. He leans back against one of the trees, but he just keeps staring into the water. I've managed to work up the energy to show myself, but I can't hold it for long. I'm nothing more than a quick hallucination of a reflection. My face on the water's surface, my teal eyes were his red should be, my lips at his. He jumps up, startled, and the water ripples. I can't hold it, so I disappear again. 

He stares a while longer before he hesitates and sits back down again, leaning over just slightly to look into the water to see if I'll come back. He lifts his hand to his face and touches his cheek just under his eye, his fingers trembling slightly as they move to his mouth and touch his lips. He stares more, but I can't tell if I've made his pain worse.

At the very least, he doesn't look as lonely, even if he thinks he's alone.


	4. Wait for Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post Advent Children/pre Dirge of Cerberus  
> 12 - Impossible; stubborn

I didn't believe it when Cloud told me; I didn't want to. The way he spoke indicated that he wasn't lying. His eyes were clear, unclouded by the guilt that had been there since you died. His posture showed a confidence I hadn't seen in him before. He was telling the truth.

But it couldn't have been true.

Even when Tifa confirmed what he had said. She hadn't seen you, but she heard your voice, clearly, as she insisted several times. She wanted me to believe it more than Cloud did. I didn't. I wouldn't. 

How could it be? 

Yuffie told me to ignore them. She usually crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks out whenever one or the other brought it up. Sometimes she pouted at Tifa, who only rolled her eyes at the girl and told her to grow up. 

Cloud won't let me ignore him, though. And now he's pulling me into the church. I don't want to go, and I tug myself back to keep him from pulling me, but his grip on my arm tightens enough to make me stop. If I struggle any more, Chaos will come out, and as much as I don't believe Cloud, I don't want to tear him to shreds, either.

When he lets me go, he steps back and stares at me. "Just look. This is where I saw her with Zack. She was here, Vincent."

I crouch and keep my gaze on the broken floorboards, trying to keep my vision from wandering to the petals scattered about, brown and withered after being knocked around during Tifa's scuffle here. 

"Vincent. Stop being so stubborn."

My eyes widen. That voice isn't Cloud's, and no one else came with us. No. This is just a trick my mind is playing on me. I won't look.

"Oh you're impossible." 

Small hands rested on my shoulders. Ok. So now Cloud got Marlene in on this? That is just be too cruel, even for him. I lift my head to scold him (and her) for playing a trick, but there's no one in front of me. 

Cloud lets out a disappointed click of his tongue, and I turn my head to see him leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. His eyes are locked on me, but they don't seem to be looking at me. "Try harder. He's too dense."

"Don't I know it."

I turn my head back to the voice again. I can still feel the small hands on my shoulders, but no one is there. I scowl slightly and move to stand up. 

"Oh no you don't mister." 

That pressure on my shoulders forces me back down. I can feel the heat rising, and my eyes narrow at nothing.

And then everything vanishes.

I'm no longer crouched on broken floorboards in a ruined church, but in a seemingly endless field of flowers. 

"Honestly, Vincent. If you weren't so stubborn, I wouldn't have to resort to such drastic measures. It's not easy for me to do this, you know."

The hands on my shoulders move, and as they pull back, I lift my head and follow their movement. My eyes widen and I stare for several minutes before it registers. "Aerith..."

Her hands are on her hips, and she stares right back at me, frowning a little. That's not something I ever wanted to see on her face, but here we are, in this field of nothing, while the ghost of a friend stares down at me with a disapproving expression.

"If you just believed Cloud and Tifa, you wouldn't be so surprised..."

"But how, you're..."

"Dead. Yes. Thank you for pointing out the obvious." She pulled her hands from her hips and crouched down in front of me. "Vincent."

I blink in response. Being vocal isn't exactly working out for me, given the slight snark to her earlier words. 

"You'll wait for me, won't you?" Why was she leaning forward? Her face is close enough to mine that if she had been alive, I'd feel her breath.

"Wait...for you?" I must sound like an idiot.

"Yes. Won't you?" Her face is closer, and it feels like her lips brush over mine, but by the time I realize, she is already several feet away again, her back to me. "I don't know how long I'll take, but I'll try."

And it all vanished. Once again I'm on that church floor. I stand slowly and turn to look to Cloud. He nods at me and heads out. He knows. I believe him, and that's all he wanted in the first place.


	5. Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place right after Dirge of Cerberus  
> 56 – Crystal Tears

Aerith didn't know what she was expecting. She hadn't actually given Vincent any time to respond to her question when she was able to show herself to him in the church. For all she knew, he was completely freaked out by all of it, and he was avoiding her for that very reason. 

After all, he hadn't come back to the church after that. He didn't even come sit by the lake as he was prone to do before Sephiroth threw his tantrum and tried to destroy everything again. Now she was ready, but she was alone. Vincent hadn't waited for her, and after more than a year, she was tired of waiting, too. 

The planet was healed to the point where she was able to draw the energy she needed to make herself visible to everyone, not just those she had pulled into her plane. Something else had happened in the past few days, though, and the planet surged with more energy, as if the last piece had finally been put into place. She didn't quite understand it, and for a moment the thought it felt familiar, but the feeling faded as quickly as it came.

Regardless, she was tired of waiting. 

She found Cloud first. He was heading back to Edge to see Tifa after what seemed to be a stressful something or other. Or at least that's what she assumed when he jumped several feet in the air upon seeing her. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" He managed when he got his bearings.

She frowned a little and crossed her arms. "Really? That's how you want to say hello to me?" She sighed a little when he bowed his head, so she shook hers and walked closer to him. 

"Sorry. I was just startled." He looked up at her and blinked. "How come you're here though? I thought you couldn't show yourself anywhere but the church or the lake?"

Aerith shrugged her shoulders a bit and uncrossed her arms, only to link them behind her back as she rocked a bit on her heels. "I was bored. No one was visiting me. Something happened, didn't it? I felt it." Suddenly, Cloud seemed to find the surrounding area very interesting. He didn't want to tell her, and at this point, she didn't really want to push it. "Fine. I want to see Tifa. Are you going there?"

"Yeah..." Cloud kept his gaze on everything but the girl in front of him. He didn't even look to see if she was following him as he headed back to the bar. When he opened the door, Tifa greeted him with her usual 'It's about damn time you made it back here.' lecture, but she paused when she saw the brown mop poke out from behind Cloud's shoulder.

"Aerith?" Her eyes widened. 

"Sorry, I should have called first?" She joked slightly as she stepped closer to the bar, but she stopped mid step at the look she was given, and when she looked back to Cloud, he again found the wall, or the window, or something else incredibly interesting. "What's with you guys...." She looked between her friends, her shoulders slumping a little. 

"You shouldn't have come..." Tifa sighed and hopped over the bar counter, moving to stand in front of the ghost. When she saw Aerith's expression crumble, she shook her head quickly. "I don't mean that it's not that we don't want to see you..."

Aerith's form flickered a little and her head bowed. 

"Oh no, Aerith, don't cry..." Tifa looked helplessly at Cloud, but he didn't turn away from the window. "I'm sorry. Shh. It's okay. You can come here whenever you want."

Cloud moved suddenly, running to try to stop the door from opening, but he was shoved back. He landed on the floor with a loud thud. Tifa lifted her hands to Aerith's shoulders, hovering them just above, since she knew she couldn't actually touch her, but she lifted her head and her eyes widened when she saw who came through the door.

"We're back!" A girl's voice sounded. One Aerith didn't recognize, but she did recognize the slow footfalls of the other person who entered, the way the metal clanged with each step. She turned, not feeling Tifa's hands as the woman fruitlessly tried to stop her from turning around.

"Vincent..." Aerith managed before her eyes widened. He looked calmer than she had ever seen him, though his eyes were wide and locked on her, clearly not expecting her to be there. Especially not with that cute, smiling girl hanging on his arm.

Cloud tried to get up and stand between them, tried to block Aerith's view, but it was too late. She flickered again, the tears that had started at Tifa's earlier words sliding down her cheeks, catching on her lips before falling to the floor. Each one plinking like little shards of crystal hitting the wood at her feet.

"Aerith..." Vincent started to reach out with his clawed arm, but by the time he reacted, she was already gone.


	6. Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here on out, all of these take place after the games end.   
> 34 - Twice

Vincent yanked his arm away from Shelke, but it was too late. Tifa crouched and picked up the little crystalline tears Aerith left behind before she vanished, her head bowed. Cloud walked over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it slightly before he looked up at the others.

Shelke was confused, understandably so. She looked at Vincent, at Cloud and Tifa, and back at Vincent before she walked away from the door and towards one of the tables. "What just happened?" 

Vincent stood there in the doorway, still staring at the ground where Tifa picked up the last of the crystals. He didn't lift his gaze even as she walked over to him and yanked his hand, dropping the small tears into his palm and closing his fingers around them. He didn't even wince as they cut into his flesh, though he was sure Tifa hadn't intended for that to happen.

"I have to go." He spoke softly, clutching those crystals in his hand and looking at Tifa, who simply nodded. 

"Where? You just got back. You can't leave now." Shelke protested as she sat on the table and swung her legs a little. "I just got you back." 

Vincent shook his head and stalked out the door. Cloud closed it behind him and leaned against it, shaking his head when Shelke hopped up to follow him. "This isn't something you should get involved in. Just let him handle it." He said softly.

Vincent opened his palm once he was outside, the sunlight glittering off the little shards in his hand, though some were now marred with little smears of blood. He sighed, bringing them to his lips and closing his eyes. They tasted vaguely like salt, but ghosts shouldn't be able to cry. Then again, tears shouldn't solidify like that, either. They also smelled like her. Flowers and sunshine. Hope. Love. Happiness. Everything he would never be able to have.

And he was so stupid. For a moment, he let himself believe it would get better. Chaos had returned to the planet with Omega, and he felt at ease. He believed that he could move on and things would be normal. He was so self-absorbed that he forgot that she had asked him to wait for her. She asked, and he moved on without her. Of all people, Vincent should have known what it was like to have everyone leave you behind, and yet here he was, trying to be happy when he had forgotten the one person who never made him feel alone.

It was the second time he lost her.


	7. Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 33 - Who?

It had been months since Aerith vanished from Tifa's bar in Edge. Months that he had been searching for her, alternating his silent vigils at the lake and the church. Months of nothing. 

How was he supposed to track someone who had no form? If Aerith didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be able to find her. He understood that well enough, but he refused to accept it. It was his fault this happened, and that was something he did accept.

Months, and now he was sitting on the floor of the church, looking down at the small, miraculous spring that had once cured Cloud of his Geostigma. He sighed and stared down at the still surface, disgusted by his own reflection.

"Who's there?" It was a man's voice. One Vincent didn't recognize, but he made no move to address the voice. He heard a tsk and a disappointed sigh before he heard the man speak again. "Oh. You." 

Vincent lifted his head. Whoever spoke definitely seemed to know him, but when he looked in the direction the sound had come from, no one was there.

"She doesn't want to see you, so just give up, Fossil." There it was again. Angry. "Leave here. All you're doing is upsetting her."

Vincent blinked before looking back down at his reflection again. His head shook slightly and he remained firmly planted in that spot.

The silence stretched on for a while before that angry voice returned. "Apparently you're deaf." 

Vincent fell backwards, a distinct shove to his shoulders forcing him back from the spring and into one of the broken pews. He frowned, and his eyes flashed red, but there was no way he could fight an opponent he couldn't see. He was shoved again, but this time the force seemed to vanish mid shove.

"Stop it." 

He knew that voice. He pushed himself back up and looked around. "Aerith...?" He whispered. If he squinted just right, he thought he could see her, but he wasn't sure if it was real or if he was imagining it.

"You should leave, Vincent." Her voice was soft as usual, but it lacked the usual cheer he had grown accustomed to when she was alive all those years ago. "If you stay any longer, Zack will hurt you even more than he already has. 

He shook his head. He absolutely wasn't hurt from a few shoves. "No...Aerith." He sighed and looked around. "Where are you?"

She flickered, crouched right in front of him, and he jumped back as much as the broken wood would allow him, his eyes widening momentarily. "Now will you leave? Stop coming here. Stop going to the lake..." She trailed off as she looked at him. Her eyes were no longer bright. Her lips looked as though they hadn't turned upwards since that day in Edge. Her cheeks were pale.

Vincent reached a hand up, but she lifted her own arm and deflected it, shoving it aside with one harsh movement. Vincent's brows furrowed. She was solid. How could that happen? "No...Aerith, I've been looking for you."

"For no reason, too. " Aerith frowned, a displeased look marring her features. "I don't want to see you anymore." 

He opened his mouth to speak again, but he thought better of it and closed it again, bowing his head slightly. "I'm sorry..." He managed.

"You're not allowed." She said sharply, standing quickly. "You're not allowed to apologize, because then I would have to consider forgiving you." 

"I'm sorry..." He stood as well, reaching out again. "Please...Aerith."

"No! Stop it!" Her hand whipped out then, a loud smack sounding as his head turned sharply to the side. She stood there, eyes widening as if she didn't expect or intend for it to happen. 

Vincent kept his head turned to the side, lifting his hand to his lips to wipe the little bit of blood that had formed there. He said nothing, even as her trembling hand came to his cheek, as if to heal the damage she had caused. It wasn't until he felt her touch his lips that he turned back to look at her, confused. He knew he deserved it, so why was she trying to heal him?

Tears slid down Aerith's cheeks as her trembling fingers brushed the blood off Vincent's lips. "I'm sorry, too." She whispered.


	8. Don't Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 92 - Jealousy

They sat in silence.

Aerith moved to sit by the edge of the spring, her back to Vincent as she peered down into the water. She knew he was watching her from where he sat after Zack had thrown him into the pew. She could feel the intensity of his gaze, focused on the back of her head. 

It felt like an hour before the silence was broken. "Who is she...?" Aerith whispered, reaching down and poking her finger through the water's surface, disturbing the calm with small ripples. 

"Who?" Vincent's brow furrowed as he watched her. 

She pulled her hand back and watched the last droplets fall from her fingertips. "That girl. The one who changed you."

"Shelke? The girl you saw in Edge?"

"Shelke? Hm..." She dropped her hand to her lap and watched the way the water slowly calmed to stillness again. 

"Aerith?" Vincent stood and moved towards her, but stopped just behind her when she didn't even move to acknowledge his proximity.

"I'm happy for you, Vincent." She said coolly, disturbing the water once she could see his reflection in it. "Truly."

"What are you talking about?" He moved and sat next to her, turning his head so he could look at her, but she turned her head, so all he could see was the back of her head again. "Aerith, are you okay?"

She curled her fingers into the fabric of her skirt as she clenched her fists tightly, doing her best to resist the urge to yell at him for that second question. Was she okay? He was an idiot wasn't he? After everything he did, he had the nerve to ask her if she was okay? But rather than voice that, she simply kept her head turned away from him. "I'm sure she'll make you very happy." She unclenched her fists, standing abruptly.

Vincent moved, reaching his hand up to grab hers, not expecting her to still be solid, but she didn't flicker out at the contact. "Why would you say something like that?" He asked quietly, looking up at her.

Aerith stood there, but she didn't pull her hand back. It burned a little from the contact, since it was the first time he touched her, rather than her hitting or touching him. Her shoulders shook slightly and she kept her back to him again. 

"Aerith? I don't understand..."

"Of course you don't." She whispered, unable to conceal the bitterness that welled up inside of her. She pulled her arm a little to break free from his grip, but he was too strong, and he wouldn't let go. "Please, just let me leave, Vincent." She whispered after a while, her head bowing as more tears threatened to slide down her cheeks. 

"You'll go away again if I do," Vincent murmured, "so I won't let you."

Aerith choked on a sob and tried to pull away. "How could you be so cruel?" She managed before she broke down, her arms going slack as her body shook with sobs. "You didn't wait for me, and I waited..I waited so long, but when you never came back..." She sank to her knees and lifted her other hand to her face to rub the tears off her cheeks. "Just let me go, you have her now. Just let go."

Vincent winced, his head bowing a bit so he didn't have to watch her break down in front of him. With her last plea, it clicked, and he pulled her arm so she fell into his chest, both arms curling around her smaller frame. He held her there for a while before he lifted his real hand to her cheek, brushing away a few tears. "It's not like that... I just had something I had to take care of."

"Stop lying." She muttered, but she didn't pull away from him, and her sobbing calmed a bit when he pulled her even closer. She lifted her hands to his chest, bracing herself a bit. "Let's just stop this." She said softly. "I'm not what you need. I get it now. I can't be what she can, and I can't do for you what she can do." She shook her head and started to push.

Vincent's arm tightened and kept her there. "It's not like that." He stated again, frowning a bit before he dropped his hand from her cheek, pushing her chin up and crushing her lips with his.

Aerith's eyes widened, the tears completely stopping, and she stiffened in his arms, her fingers curling a bit against the leather of his shirt. She let out a surprised little squeak, but it got lost somewhere in that kiss. 

"The only one I need, Aerith, is you." He whispered when he broke the kiss. She fell into his arms and tucked her face against his neck, so he rested his hand in her hair, stroking it idly. "No one else."


	9. Black and White

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 53 - Balance;yin-yang

"Vincent..."

I blinked a little and looked down at the girl in my arms, watching how she slowly pushed herself away from my chest. Her eyes were still red from crying, but she looked much better. "Yes, Aerith?"

"If I'm going to go with you, I need to do something first." I let my arms drop as she pulled out of them completely and stood. "I'm not complete like this." She gestured to herself, and I shook my head.

"Like what?"

"This. I'm still dead like this." She looked at me and blinked. "I might be able to solidify, but this isn't really my body. I need to go back to the lake for it."

"So we go and get it? Though it's been at the bottom of that lake for years, won't it be..." I shook my head.

She blinked at me and crunched her face up before she laughed. "That's disgusting. No. I'm not literally going to revive in my own body." She looked a lot better now. The red was fading from her eyes, and the way her lips curled up was obviously much nicer than the frown she wore before. "But if I am going to live again, there needs to be a balance, and the lake is the only place I can do it." 

I watched her step away and turn, her hands linking behind her back. "Then we go." I said simply, stupidly, really. 

"Mmm." She rocked back on her heels, her back still to me. "You have to come anyway." She shook her head. "You have to be the dark to my light."

I blinked a little at that, and I could feel my jaw setting, but of course she couldn't see it with her back turned to me. My fist clenched a little. I understood what she meant by that, fundamentally anyway. Aerith was the light. She always has been, and I've always been shrouded in darkness, so it made sense. Still, it wasn't pleasant hearing it that way.

"Oh, relax." She was in front of me again, bent a little and peering up at me. Her arms were still linked behind her back. "It's balance, Vincent. I'm not saying it because you're the broody vampire." She smiled a bit and leaned up quickly. I felt her press her lips to mine before she hopped away. "Are you coming, or are you just going to stand there with that silly look on your face?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, at least I broke out of the cycle of angst! :O


	10. Whole Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 48 - Just waiting

"Wait here." Aerith rested her hand on Vincent's chest and stopped him from walking too close to the lake's edge. "It shouldn't take long, but I'm not entirely sure how this is going to work." 

Vincent nodded and sat down, leaning back against the tree. "At one point do I panic?"

"Don't panic at all." Aerith shook her head and walked into the water. She dropped her solid form, so the water didn't move as she sank below the surface. 

Vincent leaned forward a bit, but then shook his head, sitting back against the tree and closing his eyes. If Aerith told him to wait and not panic, that's what he would do. Mostly because if he didn't, she'd probably yell at him, or at least be upset with him, and he had seen enough of that today.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he opened his eyes when he felt Aerith press her lips to his. 

"Hey sleepy." She smiled, her hair wet, water dripping onto her soaked jacket and dress.

He blinked once, then wordlessly pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around her. "I wasn't asleep." 

"Mm. Sure you weren't. I called your name and you didn't answer." She smiled and curled up into the ratted cloak, though she allowed one hand to snake out to tap his nose. "It's kind of cold here." She said softly, looking up at the sky. "You were waiting quite a while. At least the sun will be up soon."

Vincent nodded and stood, gathering her into his arms, ignoring her squeak and half-hearted protests to put her down, and he carried her away from the lake, holding her close to his chest.

Aerith curled up after a minute of fake protesting and closed her eyes. "You know, like this...I'm like you now."

"What does that mean?" Vincent's brow furrowed. If she was like him, then that could be so terrible for her, and he wouldn't wish that on anyone, not even his enemies.

"Forever." She whispered.


	11. The Next Step?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1 - Starlight

"What are you going to tell everyone?" Vincent asked after several minutes of silence. 

Aerith looked at him out of the corner of her eye, still holding his cloak around her shoulders, her dress and hair still damp, though she was no longer dripping. "About what, being alive again?" She smiled a little. "What is there to say other than that I'm alive?"

"They'll ask questions." 

"So let them. Just because they ask doesn't mean I have to answer." She shook her head and looked up at the sky. "Besides, you'll be the one who has explaining to do. You just ran out on your girlfriend to chase after a ghost."

Vincent groaned a little. "I told you, it's not like that."

"And I still don't totally believe it. Maybe you don't see it that way, but it sure seemed like she did. Or what about all the other girls?"

"What other girls?" He blinked, genuinely confused.

"Oh? So you didn't notice that Yuffie had feelings for you? Even I knew that. How many times did she tell you to stop thinking about me, or to stop listening to Cloud when he said he could take you to see me?"

"That doesn't mean that, does it?"

"Maybe it doesn't, but it probably does. No one else had a problem with it, right? Just Yuffie." 

Vincent nodded once. "But I don't think that it means anything. She just didn't understand."

"Hm. If you say so." Aerith took several steps ahead and looked back up at the sky. She smiled a little as the stars twinkled, and she wrapped Vincent's cloak tighter around her body. "Where should we live?" She asked softly, changing the subject before Vincent broke his brain trying to figure out if she was right. 

"Huh?"

"Where should we live? We can't live in the City, or the church. So where do you want to live?"

Vincent shook his head a little and looked at her. She was still looking up at the sky. "I never thought about it."

"Well, I certainly didn't. I was dead." Her lips twisted into a wry smile. "I suppose we have time to figure it out."

Vincent leaned down and brushed his lips against her cheek. "We have plenty of time."


	12. Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 24 – Daybreak

I guess one of the benefits of not actually needing to sleep, eat, or any of that is that you can just do your own thing. I can't remember the last time I actually watched the sun rise, and whenever that was, I certainly didn't appreciate it.

It's kind of hard to enjoy beautiful things when you're dead, after all.

Vincent humored me, at least, and stopped when he noticed I was watching. He hovered as he's been doing since I climbed out of the lake, but he didn't get in the way of the view. As the sun came up over the horizon, I reached out from under the cloak and took his hand, holding it loosely. He tightened his grip a little, careful as always not to hurt me.

Once the sun was up, we continued walking. I was completely dry by now, and had I been normal, I probably would have been cold after being wet during such a chilly night, but it didn't affect me at all. This having a body thing is going to take some getting used to. Even being able to go solid in the past few days was nothing compared to this. 

At one point, I must have tripped or stumbled or something because Vincent's picked me up and started carrying me. Any protests I uttered seem to fall on deaf ears. Was I that bad? It's possible.

"Vincent, please I'm fine."

"I don't want to take that risk." He said softly, and I knew he was going to be stubborn about this, so I just shrugged it off and curled into his chest. I've been doing that quite a bit lately.

At one point, I felt a slight pressure on the top of my head, and I glanced up at Vincent. He was looking straight ahead as he carried me, but he kept glancing down at me. When he caught me looking, his lips twitched a little and he looked ahead even more rigidly than before. "So you kissed me because you thought I was asleep?" I poked his chest lightly. 

His lips twitched a little, but he remained silent. He probably knew that any answer he gave me would just result in some teasing. I probably would have teased him anyway if he didn't seem so embarrassed about being caught. I should be nice to him, though, so he doesn't get tired of me and leave. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tucked my face against his shoulder so, at least at this moment, he couldn't put me down.


	13. Density

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 41 - Chill

Aerith sat at the bar in Edge, her elbows resting on the counter, chin in her hands as she talked quietly with Tifa. Her legs swung back and forth, and there was a slight smile on her lips. She kept her back to the rest of them, though, and Vincent found it slightly troubling that she wouldn't turn to look at him.

"Trouble in paradise?" Cloud murmured as he watched the two women talk. Tifa was smiling, so at least there wasn't anything bad happening right?

Vincent shook his head slightly, but the worried crease of his brow gave it away. "I'm not sure." He admitted. "She was fine before, but since coming back here, she's been distant."

"Hm..." Cloud leaned back in his chair. "Did anything happen?" He looked at Vincent, knowing full well just now dense he actually was. Cloud knew he wasn't good at picking up on clues, but Vincent was definitely worse.

Vincent's brow creased even more. "Well, we arrived yesterday, and we came here first. Aerith was really happy to see everyone. I introduced her to Shelke. Everything was fine." He watched Aerith's back as he spoke. "But when we went to the inn to spend the night, she got like this."

"Is she tired?"

" I don't think so. She doesn't seem to need to eat or sleep."

Cloud drank a little of his beer and nodded once. "And today she just came in here and started talking to Tifa? Maybe she just want to catch up?" 

"Maybe." Vincent didn't sound convinced.

The door opened a few minutes later, and Shelke flopped into the chair right next to Vincent. He turned to greet her. Cloud arched a brow and watched Aerith's shoulders hunch up before she seemed to force herself to relax. Her head turned just enough to see their table, and Cloud tried to smile at her, but she wasn't looking at him. She was watching Vincent.

Specifically, she was watching Vincent smile and talk to another girl.

Cloud tsked a little, since he was sure this had to do with that day Aerith had come there as a ghost. And knowing Aerith, she probably already told Vincent about how she feels. Vincent, being the dense dolt that he was, probably had no idea that anything could even be wrong. 

Tifa's brows lifted and she shot a look at Cloud before she managed to get Aerith's attention again. Cloud rolled his eyes and nudged Vincent under the table. The other man just looked at him for a moment before turning back to listen to Shelke.

When the girl put her hand on Vincent's, and leaned in a little closer to talk, her voice lowering, Aerith stood up suddenly, almost knocking over the stool she was sitting on.

Vincent blinked and turned to look at her, the worried expression coming back to his face. He pulled his hand out from under Shelke's and also started to stand. "Aerith...? Are you all right?" He said from his spot at the table.

When she spoke, there was an icy tone to her voice that even Shelke managed to pick up on. "Of course." She still had her back to them. Tifa had gently touched one of her hands, trying to help. Aerith tensed for a moment before she seemed to relax, nodding once at her friend. 

Vincent stood there, confused, unsure if he should wait there or walk towards her. Shelke had grabbed his wrist, and when Aerith didn't move, she tried to tug him back into the chair, so she could finish telling him about her day.

That was enough. Aerith murmured a strained goodbye to Tifa, her fists clenching for a second before she turned and walked towards Vincent. She looked at him coldly, and before he could even say anything, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down, planting an overly possessive kiss on his lips.

Cloud arched a brow, and Tifa gasped. Shelke's eyes were wide, and she slowly let go of Vincent's wrist. Vincent himself stammered and tried to say something, but when he moved his mouth to speak, he felt a little blood. He lifted his finger and touched his lower lip, looking at Aerith, confused. Did she bite him?

Aerith was frowning. Her eyes still cold, her voice still icy. "You can stay somewhere else tonight." She muttered before walking out of the bar.

Vincent whimpered a little and quickly moved to follow her.


	14. Trying Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 51 - Honest Mistake

Vincent sat on the floor in front of their inn door. Aerith made it back before he did, so she locked him out. When he tried to talk to her through the door, he was met with silence. So he sat there, his fingers wiping the last of the dried blood off his lips as he tried to think of anything he did wrong to make her mad at him. He knew something was wrong yesterday, but she played it off. Now he was sure there was something wrong. Why else would she bite him like that?

Of course, he couldn't really believe that she bit him in the first place, but Aerith was something of a mystery to him. She always had been. She treated him normally. She never thought anything bad of him, well, until recently. And yet he couldn't figure out what he did.

He wasn't sure how long he was sitting with his back to the door, so he didn't know what time it was when that door finally opened and he almost fell backwards. He tilted his head back and looked up at Aerith, brows furrowing. Her eyes were red and slightly puffy, and her cheeks were pale. He had made her cry again hadn't he?

"I told you to stay somewhere else. No one's going to be able to sleep with you sitting out here..." She said softly, looking at him, but not looking at him at the same time. She stepped back from the door and held it open, turning her head away from him and waiting.

Vincent rose and looked at her before stepping into the room, standing there in silence as she shut and locked the door behind him, her hand still on the knob as she kept her back to him. 

"You probably think I'm the worst right now." She said after several moments of silence. "I know I'm being irrational..."

"I made you cry again." Vincent shook his head and turned to look at her back. "I know I did something wrong, but I don't know what."

Aerith winced a little and shook her head slowly. "No." Her forehead rested against the door. "I'm the one who did it this time. I got stupid and I behaved badly. I'm going to apologize to Tifa tomorrow." She sighed and closed her eyes.

Vincent hesitated before he rested his hand on her shoulder. "You can't help how you feel. If you're mad at me, it's okay. I deserve it, I'm sure."

Aerith whirled around, the movement knocking his hand off her shoulder. "I'm not mad at you!" Her eyes widened. "I'm terrified!"

Vincent winced and stepped back. "Of me?" The pain was so obvious in his expression.

"What? No. Don't be stupid. I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of you leaving me." Her eyes were still wide glassing over with tears that she tried to keep from falling. 

"I wouldn't." He shook his head and lifted his hand to her cheek.

"You have." Aerith sighed and bowed her head, closing her eyes and lifting her hand to touch his. "And when I found you, you weren't alone, and part of me is honestly terrified of it happening again."

Vincent watched her for a moment. He couldn't say he didn't understand that fear of being left, but he didn't understand how she could feel that way. He hadn't given her a reason to doubt him, had he? But yet here she was, trembling a bit, telling him her fears. "How can I prove it to you?" He whispered, his hand cupping her cheek now. "Aerith...tell me."

"Don't let her touch you." She looked up at him pleadingly.

Vincent's brow furrowed, but then his eyes widened. So that's what this was about. He shook his head a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize she had. She's...I don't know how to explain it, but it's not what you think." He brushed his thumb just under her lip and leaned in. "But I will try to be more aware of it, so I can stop you from hurting." 

Aerith's lips parted a little and she could feel her cheeks getting hot. "O...okay." She managed. "Then...then I will try not to get so upset about it."

Vincent's lips twitched into the tiniest of smiles. "Thank you." He leaned in and kissed her, pulling his hand back from her cheek just as their lips met. "And I'm sorry."

"Me too."


	15. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 66 - Between the sheets

"So everything's okay now, right?" Tifa asked, glancing up at Aerith as she dried some of the glasses she just washed.

"Should be." Aerith spoke softly, resting her elbows on the bar counter and resting her chin in her hands. She was smiling a lot more than Tifa had ever remembered, so the other woman was watching her with piqued interest. Aerith seemed to be spacing out, a dreamy look on her face.

Vincent was sitting next to her, which was even more interesting, since he really didn't like sitting at the bar. His metal arm rested loosely around Aerith's waist, and he just seemed to want to be close to her.

Tifa looked at him after a moment. "And for you?"

Vincent's response was a slightly embarrassed look before he looked off to the side as if that meant Tifa couldn't see him anymore. 

Aerith's cheeks flared a little and she giggled slightly. "He's just shy, worse than before if that's possible." 

Tifa looked between the two of them, at Aerith's still-dreamy expression, the flush of her cheeks, the slight smile. She watched Vincent try to look a hole through the wall if it meant that Tifa wouldn't be paying attention. After a minute of looking between the two of them, her eyes widened. "Did you guys have makeup sex or something?"

Vincent fell backwards off of the stool and groaned. Aerith blushed so darkly she matched her red jacket.

Tifa's eyes remained wide, but then she started to laugh. "You two would be embarrassed about that." 

"Embarrassed about what?" Cloud came from the apartments in back, stretching a little before he blinked at Vincent sitting up from where he fell on the floor. He reached his hand down to help his friend up.

"Make up sex." Tifa was still laughing a bit. "Look at them. They're as cute as teenagers."

"Oh? So it does still work, hm?" Cloud grinned at Vincent as the taller man stood with his help and dusted himself off. 

Aerith laughed this time, though her face was still bright red. "It definitely still works." She shifted a little and managed to dodge Tifa's swat at her with the towel. "What?"

Vincent groaned and tried to hide himself, but that was a bit impossible. "Aerith..."

"You certainly weren't embarrassed last night." She pouted at him. "At least I'm being consistent. I've been like this pretty much since it happened." She pointed to her cheeks. 

"I'm not embarrassed. It's just private." Vincent shifted a little. 

Cloud laughed and clapped his hand on his shoulder. "I can tell you about what Tifa and I did last night if that would make you feel better."

"Cloud!" Tifa threw the towel at him, so he turned at her yell just in time to get hit in the face. 

Vincent chuckled softly. "That makes me feel better, though." 

Cloud pulled the towel off his face and looked at him, grinning a little. "So you do laugh. Wow. We're learning even more about you today than we have in years." He walked back to the bar and put the towel down, leaning over enough to grin at Tifa. "Are you embarrassed by what we did last night?"

Aerith laughed when Tifa shot Cloud a look. "If you're not careful, Cloud, you might have to be the ones having make-up sex tonight." She patted him on the back before sliding off the stool and walking over to Vincent, tucking herself against his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Don't worry." She whispered. "I won't say anything else. I certainly won't talk about this morning." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Besides, are you going to complain?"

Vincent twitched a little and shook his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah! The prompt is such a tease. Sorry! No smut! :(


	16. Cast Aside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 45 – Shadow

He promised Aerith he would be more aware. It wasn't all that difficult, with Shelke being absolutely horrible at being secretive as she tried to shadow him. When they were all in the bar, she watched him. Whenever he went anywhere alone, she followed him. He let her think that he didn't notice, since whenever he even remotely turned in her direction, she seemed to panic and run.

After several days of this, he decided enough is enough. He rose from his seat as his usual table, taking slow, deliberate steps to the bar, where Aerith was sitting as she usually did, talking to Tifa about all sorts of things he didn't understand. "Aerith," he said softly, resting his hand on her back and leaning forward a bit so he was closer to her ear. "I'm going to go outside for a bit." He whispered.

She blinked and turned her head to look at him. "Is everything all right, Vincent?" Her brows lifted a little. 

Vincent nodded once and offered her a slight smile, just a simple quirk of his lips before he leaned in and kissed her. 

Her eyes widened and she squeaked against his lips, her cheeks pinking. 

Tifa whistled a little and chuckled. "Oh look who's coming out of his shell." She teased, resting her arms on the counter and leaning forward a little. 

Vincent straightened up and shrugged. "I'll be back soon." He turned and walked out of the bar. A moment later. Shelke slid out of her chair and followed him. 

He walked down the street and turned down one of the alleyways, leaning back against the wall and blending in with the shadows, his arms crossed over his chest.

Shelke peeked into the alley, but when she didn't see him, she started to run, until she practically crashed into him. She caught herself before she fell, but she stared at him once she gathered herself.

He turned his head to look at her, shaking his head. "Didn't think I'd notice?"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head a little. "I just..."

"Why?" He didn't move, but he kept looking at her.

She shook her head and looked at everything else to avoid looking at him. "I'm worried about you." 

"There's no reason for you to be worried. Nothing is wrong."

"You're different." She kicked the ground a little. "I don't like it. I don't like--" She stopped herself and shook her head.

Vincent watched her with a flat expression. "You will stop this, won't you?" He pushed off the wall and started to walk past her.

"But Vincent!" She reached out and grabbed his arm. 

He stopped, but he pulled his arm away from her grasp and looked over his shoulder at her. He frowned a bit and shook his head. "If you are worried about me as a friend, I accept that, but I am going to tell you again nothing is wrong." His voice was soft, but firm. "If you want to continue to be a friend, continue. If you choose not to, that's your own choice, but stop shadowing me" He started to walk away again. 

And she stopped. He was able to walk back to the bar in peace. Aerith turned to look at him when he entered, looking at him with a slightly worried expression. 

"Vincent, is everything all right?" She turned on the stool to face him. 

He nodded when he walked over to her, that little ghost of a smile from earlier coming back as he reached out and touched her cheek, causing her to blush again. "I was just taking care of something."

Aerith glanced past him as the door opened and Shelke walked back in. She looked at her, then looked back at him again. "Something...?" She whispered.

Vincent nodded, but turned a little and dropped his hand from her cheek when Shekle marched right up to them. 

She was frowning, her eyes narrowing a bit as she looked at Aerith. "I don't like you." She stated rather matter-of-factly. 

Vincent frowned a little and started to move so that he was standing in front of Aerith a little more. 

Aerith blinked a little, but rested her hand on Vincent's chest. "It's okay." She offered him a little smile before turning towards Shelke. "I know. You think I'm using tears to manipulate him into doing what I want. You think that all I do is cause him pain, and you don't like it. You don't like that he's changing, either."

Shelke blinked a little, clearly surprised. "How did you...?"

Aerith offered her a slight smile. "You don't want to see him go down that dark path. You're upset about it because you thought you were the one who could keep him from doing that again." She shook her head. "You're not the only one who's felt that way lately." She slid off the stool and rested both of her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders. "But Vincent is an old man. He can make his own decisions. You should trust his judgment."

"You're just saying that because that's better for you." Shelke started to step back, but Aerith had a deceptively strong grip on her shoulders.

Aerith sighed and shook her head. "I'm just saying that because no one can make his decisions for him." She let go of the girl's shoulders and sat back on the stool. "So you can hate me, if you'd like. You can blame me for every problem under the sun." She turned and rested her elbows on the bar again, linking her fingers together and resting her chin on them. "I'm already too used to that for it to bother me anymore."

Vincent sighed and shook his head, resting his hand on Aerith's shoulder, though he looked at Shelke. His expression remained neutral as he looked at her. "She is my light." He said softly, knowing Shelke would understand what that meant. After all, shadows couldn't exist without light to cast them.

Shelke bowed her head and sighed before she nodded and left the bar.


	17. A Necessity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 21 - Wireless

"We need to get you a phone." Vincent spoke quietly, looking down at his mobile as it rested on the coffee table in their new place. He has been looking at it a lot more since that incident with Shelke the other day, so I wasn't all that surprised that he was thinking about it. It was just the suddenness of his words that startled me.

"Why?" I asked, looking up from my book and blinking at him. "Why would I need one when you have one?"

"If we're separated for any reason, or if you decide to go spend some time with Tifa or something." He didn't take his gaze away from the object.

I sighed and marked my page before putting the book down on the table next to his phone. "Vincent..." I leaned over him a bit and lifted my hand to poke at his cheek. "If it upsets you so much, go talk to her."

He shook his head and looked at me, but my finger was still up by his cheek, so it ended up pushing into his nose. He blinked, clearly startled, but it was enough to make him chuckle a little. "No. It's not that." He shook his head and lifted his hand to take mine. "Besides, I don't want to give her a reason to think there's a chance."

"Hm." I smiled and held his hand. "Who knew you were so popular. If I knew that was going to happen, I would have tried harder not to be so dead for so long." I smiled, to show him I was joking. For a moment he looked upset, but he didn't frown, so I guess that's an improvement. 

"We should still get you a phone." My attempt at a subject change didn't deter him. "Please."

"Fine." I pouted a bit and pulled my hand from his. "Now?" If I kept pouting, maybe he wouldn't want to go. Maybe I could convince him to put it off some more. After all, I had no real use for anything like that. I could see Cloud and Tifa often. Barret was still around here, too. If I wanted to talk to Red or Yuffie, I could just go visit them. So why did I need something like that?

Vincent looked at me, at my pout and he shook his head. "No, we don't have to go now." He said softly. 

Of course it worked. I smiled a bit and threw my arms around his neck, practically falling into his lap. "Good. I don't want to go out today. We're finally settled." I brushed my cheek against his and closed my eyes. "Let's just stay here for a bit."

"Okay." He sounded so shy, which was cute. He curled his arms around me and held me close, pulling me completely onto his lap. "Aerith...?"

"Hm?" I pulled my head back just enough to look at him. "What is it?"

He shook his head and offered me one of those rare little smiles that he was getting better at. "Thank you."

"For what?" I tilted my head and blinked a little. "I didn't do anything, so why are you thanking me?"

"I just wanted to."

"You're weird." I laughed a bit. 

"You like me." He countered, and I had to stop laughing. Since when was Vincent so playful? He was still smiling at me, and he was leaning closer. 

"Vincent, I—" I couldn't even finish my sentence because he was kissing me. My cheeks heated up and I closed my eyes, sinking into it.

"See? You like me." He whispered against my lips.

"I do. Weirdo."


	18. A Weekend Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 40 - Three Plum Buns

Aerith looked out the window as Vincent drove, her elbow resting against the door, her cheek against her fist as she watched sand whiz by. "Not to sound like a brat, but how much longer do you think it will take to get there?" She asked, glancing at his reflection in the glass before looking back out.

"Another hour maybe. Sorry. It's the terrain." He said softly. 

"It is pretty boring. Sand. More sand." She shook her head and closed her eyes. "Who's idea was it to have everyone meet up at the Saucer anyway? And why didn't Cloud and Tifa come with us?"

"Cloud didn't want us to have to wait for him to finish his deliveries, and Tifa needed to close down the bar for the weekend." Vincent shrugged. 

"Boring." Aerith yawned and shifted, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. "Is the hotel still such a dreadful theme?"

"No. There's a new owner, from Wutai, so it's more traditional."

"Oh. That's nice, then." She yawned a bit out of boredom. 

They rode in silence for that last hour. Vincent parked the truck and grabbed their bag from the back seat, waiting for Aerith before taking her hand and leading her into the monstrosity that was The Gold Saucer.

Aerith shuddered a little as they took the tube to the hotel, and she hugged his arm a bit when he went to speak to the girl behind the counter. Everything was so different, and she was glad for it. The spooky props and decor was replaced with beautiful plants and paper screens. There was a small pond in the lobby, and Aerith leaned over a little to watch the large fish swim about. She squeaked a little when Vincent moved and tugged her to their room. 

Inside, there was a small tray on the low table with tea, freshly brewed, and some sweets on a plate. Aerith let go of Vincent's arm and walked over, sitting down and taking one of the three little buns and pulling it open. "Oh! It's a plum bun!" She smiled and tasted it. 

Vincent watched her, smiling a little at her apparent joy in eating something like that. He put their bag down and sat next to her. "You like it, then?" He blinked since she had already eaten two of them by the time he sat. This was the first time he had seen her eat anything since she revived. 

"These are good." She smiled as she bit into the last bun. "I know you can't eat, but here." She leaned in and kissed him, some of the plum still on her lips. "You can at least taste, right?" She whispered before finishing that last one.

Vincent blinked, but nodded once. "It is delicious." He murmured, but he wasn't speaking about the excess plum he licked from his lips.


	19. Coming of Age

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 96 - Kimono

"He is absolutely not going to know what to do with himself when he sees you." Tifa chuckled as she helped Aerith with her hair.

Aerith blushed faintly and looked at her friend's reflection in the mirror. "I don't know. Why do we have to wear something like this anyway?" She lifted her arms a little, the sleeves of the pink, flower patterned furisode still pooled on her lap.

"Yuffie sent them. I don't know. Something to do with this being some grand celebration, not just of your return but her coming of age." Tifa shrugged just slightly, as much as the restricting fabric would let her. "Plus, she said something about the two of us not being able to wear these again next year if we play our cards right, whatever that means."

Aerith made a slight face, but nodded as Tifa stepped back. She stood and smiled, moving to help her friend with her hair as well. "Well, if Vincent won't know what to do with himself, Cloud won't either." She smiled at her friend.

"Well, shall we go render the men speechless, then?" Tifa chuckled and took Aerith's hand. The two of them slowly walked out of the room and towards the hall where they were to meet the others. 

Yuffie stood in the hallway waiting for them, smiling a bit as she gave them a little wave. "Oh you two look great!" She started to jump, but caught herself and smiled sheepishly, moving to Aerith's other side and taking her other hand. "Hey...About before."

Aerith shook her head and smiled. "You don't need to apologize for having a crush on Vincent and trying to convince him I wasn't real." When she looked at Yuffie, the younger girl bowed her head. "Oh stop. I'm teasing you." 

"You weren't this mean before!" Yuffie lifted her head and grinned, and the three of them laughed.

They laughed a little more when they entered the room and both Cloud and Vincent scrambled to their feet, but promptly fell back into their chairs when they saw the women. Cloud's face was red, and he tried to hide it behind hands. Vincent just stared outright, his mouth slightly agape.

"You know." Aerith let go of the girls' hands and walked to Vincent, gently pushing his chin up to close his mouth. "That's impolite." She leaned down and kissed the top of his head before taking a seat at his side.

"Aerith...it's just...sorry...I..."

Yuffie laughed. "Well, now I'm glad I dodged that bullet. How articulate, Vincent." She smirked. 

Aerith giggled a little and shook her head. "This is one of the better moments. You really saved yourself."

Vincent just blinked at them before his lips formed a little pout. Aerith shook her head and gently tugged his hair enough for him to turn and look at her, and once he did, she planted a soft kiss on his lips. "Stop and enjoy the party."

He nodded.


	20. Affection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 81 – Sake

Vincent sat quietly at the table and watched the others. At some point during their celebration, Yuffie had ordered several bottles of sake, and within an hour, everyone but Cid and himself were drunk. Cid chewed on a toothpick as he sat next to Vincent, watching the others laugh and sing and do all sorts of silly things only Yuffie would probably do sober.

"Tough luck eh, Valentine?" Cid crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair a little, grinning. "Never seen the lot of them so lively."

"I seem to remember a night when you were just as drunk as they are now..." Vincent glanced at him. 

"Oh yeh. When you cheated at high 'an low. Bastard." The pilot grinned, then shook his head. "Shera would kick my ass if I came home with a hangover tomorrow." 

"She's a smart woman." Vincent chuckled softly.

"EEEK!" Aerith was suddenly crouched behind them, her face poking between their shoulders. "Shhhh. I'm hiding." She giggled, ducking a bit behind Vincent when Yuffie looked over there.

"Aerith come back here! We're not done!"

"I'm hiding! Shhhh!" She laughed a little.

Vincent glanced at Cid before looking over his shoulder, his forehead creased in worry. "Aerith..." 

"Vincent, you're not supposed to let them know I'm here." Aerith pouted up at him before she walked back over to the group and continued laughing with them.

"I'm sure that will be interesting tonight." Cid elbowed Vincent's side and chuckled. "She's either going to be wild or exhausted."

Vincent shrugged. "She'll probably be over it in an hour."

"Hm...? Undead metabolism really that great?" Cid whistled.

Aerith looked over at them, before she turned back to the group and nodded. "That's easy. Watch!" She grinned before she walked over to Vincent. "Hey."

Vincent looked up at her and blinked. "Yes? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Aerith shifted and sat on his lap, pushing some of the hair out of his face. "Vincent, do you love me?"

Vincent's eyes widened and his cheeks turned a very pale pink. He glanced at Cid, who was laughing. Yuffie and Tifa were ginning at him, while Cloud, Barret, and Red watched with wide eyes. "Where did this come from all of a sudden?"

Aerith leaned in a little and slid her fingers down his cheek. "Can't you just answer the question? Do you love me?" She kissed him, a chaste little kiss. "Or do you not love me? Her eyes filled with tears."

Vincent's cheeks somehow managed to darken, something that he hadn't thought possible until Aerith was back. "I love you."

The group cheered; Cid continued to laugh.

"You love me a lot don't you?" She kissed him again, this time a little less innocent, her arms sliding around his neck so she could hold herself close. 

"Y...Yes. Aerith what are you doing?" He managed when she pulled back.

"Winning." She said before the third kiss. This one much more passionate, causing his eyes to widen before he reciprocated.

"Damnit. She wasn't kidding when she said it was easy." Yuffie grinned. "Hey you two! Get a room!"

Aerith pulled back and turned to grin at the others, giggling a bit. Vincent sat there, mouth slightly open, cheeks slightly flush. His arms curling around her so she couldn't get up and rejoin them. "Aerith..." He whispered and rested his forehead against his shoulder.

Aerith blinked a little, but then her eyes widened and she blushed. "Oops. I think I overdid it."

Cid laughed so hard he fell out of his chair. Yuffie's eyes widened and she stared, and Tifa just started laughing. "Poor Vincent..." Cloud whispered to Red and Barret, and they both nodded.

Vincent whimpered softly into her shoulder and held her closer. Aerith blushed a bit more and smiled a bit at the others. "I think...we're going to go back to our room." She giggled before worming out of Vincent's arms and helping him up, but standing in front of him to help him keep some of his modesty. 

Vincent managed a little nod before he let her pull them out of the dining room.


	21. Thoughts of the Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 28 – Chestnut buds

Aerith sat on the veranda of the room, overlooking the indoor garden meant to give off that more serene, natural feeling. She held her cup of tea in her hands, watching the way the steam lifted from the mug and swirled in the air before dissipating into nothingness. 

She looked at the small chestnut tree, the buds just starting to form, and she smiled a little. It was peaceful, and she could stay here all morning if Vincent would let her.

If he came back after trying to sneak out this morning without her noticing, that is. She assumed he went to go help the others, who were surely suffering from intense hangovers right now. Well, all of them but Cid, since he said he had to get back early this morning. 

She sipped her tea before putting the cup down on the small tray she brought out with her. She shifted and pulled the silk robe back up on her shoulder after it slid down, the little marks from the night before already healed. She blushed just slightly as she remembered what had happened, and her hands came up to pat some of the heat out of her cheeks. 

She wondered if Vincent knew that each time he embraced her, she was healing him. The scars on his chest were already fading. She wasn't sure how the heart or the arm would go, but bit by bit, each night restored him just slightly. Perhaps he thought it was in his head, but he was smiling more, and he was definitely more social than he had been.

She stretched her arms over her head a little before picking up her tea, her eyes once again drifting to those little chestnut buds. It would certainly be a while before he was healed, but once he was, she knew they would be able to create a little bud of their own.

The door to the room slid open, and she heard him try to close the door as quietly as he opened it. She heard him slide his slippers off and take slow, careful steps back into the room proper. 

"Vincent?" She turned and looked over his shoulder at him and he stopped mid-step, quickly hiding something behind his back. She blinked at him and tilted her head. "Is everything all right?" 

"Yes. Sorry, did I wake you?"

"I wasn't asleep."

He nodded a little and kept his metal arm behind his back as he walked over to her and reached out to touch her hair. "Sorry. I went to check on the others."

"Ah." She smiled a little, glancing at the arm behind his back before she looked back out at the garden again. "I figured." She knew he was hiding something, but since he was so horrible at it, she figured she'd at least let him think she had no idea.

He moved around a bit before coming back to sit beside her, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye before looking back out at the garden. "Are you okay?" He asked. 

"Hm? Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I mean, last night it was a little..."

Aerith laughed softly and shook her head, leaning against his side and smiling. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

He nodded and turned his head a little to look at her before he kissed the top of her head. "Better than okay."


	22. Flower Crown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8 – Chrysanthemums

"So why couldn't Reeve make it again?" Yuffie poked at the chrysanthemum petals floating in her tea. 

"Work, he said." Tifa shook her head. "He's worse than Cid."

"Cid left this morning because of work?" Cloud looked at the others, blinking. "Did he say anything about it last night?"

Aerith smiled a little and shook her head. "I don't think that's why he left early." She settled against Vincent's side and rested her hand on his. "I'm pretty sure Shera's pregnant."

"WHAT?" Yuffie jumped up, knocking the table, and sending her teacup flying. "Ack!" She yelped when it landed on Vincent's head, tea soaking his hair and yellow petals clinging to whatever they landed on. "Sorry!" She reached to help him, but he simply shook his head and looked at Aerith. 

Aerith sighed a little. "You're hopeless, Vincent." She said as she carefully pulled the petals out of his hair once he took the teacup off his head. 

Barret chuckled and leaned back a bit. "That's a nice look for you, Vampire." He grinned.

Vincent's cheeks darkened a little and he bowed his head a bit, mostly to hide his face, though also to help Aerith reach the rest of the petals.

"Should I leave them in, then?" Aerith giggled as she took her napkin and started dabbing the tea before it dripped from his hair. 

"No." Vincent whispered. 

"No? But it looks so good." Cloud chuckled. "It adds a little color."

Vincent pouted a bit, so Aerith leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Relax. If I'm going to dump any petals on your head, they're going to be pink."

Vincent pouted more, and the others laughed.


	23. To Alleviate Boredom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 38 – If

Heading back to Edge after seeing (almost) everyone was bittersweet. There were many hugs, tears, promises to see each other more often. Realistically, they all knew it wouldn't be likely that they could see each other often. Everyone had their own lives now, and leaving those lives was increasingly difficult. But promises were made, and they would be kept to the best of everyone's ability.

Vincent drove in silence. Aerith settled back in her seat and watched the sand, just as she did on the way there. 

"Do we have anything pressing to do?" She asked after who knows how long. She kept her eyes focused on the scenery, bland as it was. "I mean, once we get back..."

Vincent shook his head a little. "I don't think so. Why? Should we?"

"Hm. No. I was just asking." She shifted and turned her head to watch him instead. "Do you think we'll get bored? I mean, it's not like we can bother Tifa and Cloud every day, right? They both have jobs after all."

"Are you worried about not having a job?" Vincent glanced at her. "What would either of us do?"

Aerith shrugged. "Well, I could always go back to selling flowers..." She chuckled, but then blinked. "Actually, that's not a bad idea. I don't remember seeing a florist..."

Vincent stopped the truck and looked at her. "You want to open a flower shop?"

"Would that be possible?"

He blinked. "Well, we did just get an apartment, but..." His brows furrowed a little. "We could sell it, I guess. Find one with a storefront...but where would you get the flowers?"

Aerith smiled softly at him. "I have my ways. Former ghosts have to have some secret talents, right?" She leaned over a bit and rested her hand on his. "Would that be too much though? Should I have not brought it up?"

"No. If it's something you want to do, we can do it." He smiled a little. "We might be able to find somewhere we can convert into a greenhouse or something."

"That wouldn't be so bad, would it?" She leaned over and kissed his cheek before settling back in her seat. She hummed a bit as he began to drive again.

Vincent smiled softly. If it was something that would make Aerith happy, he would do his best to accomplish it.


	24. Leap of Faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 94 – Russian roulette

It was a risky venture, but even if it didn't work out, Vincent was content to see Aerith so excited about something. It took him a few weeks to find a storefront property that would suit their needs, and so he sold the apartment bought it. It was a little run down, but with some work, it would be perfect. 

They cleaned up the living quarters first, mostly to give Aerith some time to acquire what she thought she needed to start the garden on the roof. It also gave Vincent some time to work on their truck to make it more suited for flower transport.

Once the living space was settled, Aerith went to work on the roof. By the end of the second month, all they had left to do was renovate the storefront. It was hard work to be sure, but watching Aerith smile through it all was absolutely worth it. 

And so after the third month they opened, and Aerith beamed with joy. It was absolutely risky to open a flower shop in a city that seemed overrun with twisted metal and clanking machines. The chance of failing was much higher than that of succeeding, but Aerith was happy. She hummed as she tended to the flowers each day. She smiled warmly at every customer even if they didn't buy anything. She even seemed calm and content on those days no one stopped by the store.

It wasn't until another month had passed that she lost some of that cheerful edge.

"Are you disappointed that it's slow, Vincent?" She asked one night, sitting on the couch and flipping through some bridal magazine (which she bought for floral research, she insisted, not because she expected anything, though she was convinced Cloud was going to ask Tifa any day, and maybe once Shera had the baby, she could convince Cid to have a small ceremony).

"What? Where did that come from?" Vincent blinked at her. "Are you disappointed?"

She looked at him and blinked. "Why would I be disappointed? It's not happening to me."

Vincent looked at her, face scrunched up in confusion. "You're not talking about the shop?"

"Oh! No! I love it." She smiled a little and put the magazine on the table, getting up and walking to where he was seated in his chair and sliding into his lap, her arms around his neck. "Are you disappointed about the shop being slow?"

"No. I just worried that you were." He curled his metal arm around her waist and smiled a little.

"I'm not talking about that anyway. It's nice that it's not too busy. If it gets crazy, we'll have to hire someone, and I don't want to do that just yet. I'm talking about your healing."

"Eh? What healing?" Vincent blinked a little.

"You really haven't noticed?" Aerith arched a brow. "Nothing feels different?" 

He looked at her for a moment, his eyes widening when he came to the realization. His arm wasn't hurting because he accidentally got it wet, or because he damaged it when they were working on the renovations. "My arm? You're healing my arm?" He pulled it from around her waist and lifted it a bit to look at it.

"Your heart, too, but that's much more difficult." Aerith leaned against him a bit, her arms still around his waist as she nuzzled his cheek. "Is it bad? Should I stop?"

Vincent shook his head. "I could feel more, but I assumed that was because I was happy..." He said softly. 

She shook her head and smiled, pulling back enough to see his face. "No. but it's been very difficult to heal and remove the other things at the same time, especially without you noticing." 

"You don't have to do that you know."

"I know. But I also know that you worry about hurting me, so I wanted to help you not worry so much. Plus, if I told you, I ran the risk of you freaking out and botching it all up and dying on me." 

"I wouldn't want that." He whispered. 

"No one would." Aerith smiled and kissed his nose. 

He crossed his eyes a little, but relaxed back into the chair, holding her against his chest.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 69 – Cobwebs

"Vincent, can you hear me?" Aerith's voice seemed so far away, and I turned my head in the direction I thought it was coming from.

I could feel my eyes opening, but the light was so bright, I had to lift a hand to shield my eyes as they adjusted. Why was everything so cloudy? Why did I feel so tired?

"Vincent?" She leaned over me, I could tell, but everything was too blurry for me to tell much more than that. 

I tried to blink the cobwebs out of my eyes. How long had I been asleep? The last time I felt like this was in the mansion after several decades of sleep. I don't even remember settling down, so why was I so lethargic? Why was it an effort just to keep my arm up?

Why was my arm not metal? 

My eyes widened a little, the vision slowly starting to clear. "What...?" I managed, though my voice cracked.

Aerith moved a bit and closed the curtains, cutting off the sunlight. It was easier for my eyes to adjust, and soon I was able to see her a bit better. She smiled at me. "You were asleep for a long time." She said softly, and I felt her take my hands in hers. Two hands, no metal. "I got a little impatient. I'm sorry." She smiled sheepishly.

I tried to remember what happened, but the last thing I could recall was sitting in the chair with her, when she told me she had been healing me all this time. "What...? What did you do?" My brows furrowed a little as I looked at her, still trying to blink some of cloudiness away. 

"I burst healed you." She leaned down and kisses my forehead. "Don't worry. I drew energy from the planet, so I wasn't hurt by it." 

"Still." I shifted started to sit up, so she moved back a bit to let me. I looked down at our hands for a moment before I let go and moved both of them. Everything felt so normal. 

"Your heart too, you know." She said as she hopped up and stretched. "How does it feel?"

I blinked a little and rested my hand over my chest. I had gotten so used to the tightness and pain there that I stopped noticing it. Now it was gone. "I don't feel anything..."

Aerith blinked, but when she picked up my meaning, she smiled and reached out, touching my hand. "You'll probably be drowsy for a while." She shook her head. "But now you can do normal things, if you want. It's kind of like me. I can sleep and eat if I want to, but I don't have to. You should be the same."

I nodded and looked at her. "Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably add some tags...since I've just drastically altered Vincent's physical body. Whoops! Haha. :)


	26. False Images

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 47 – Deceit of the senses

Aerith watched Vincent with a smile as he moved around their home. He touched everything with one hand, then the other. It was cute. Each time he reached out what used to be nothing but metal claws, he hesitated as if afraid to break whatever he was reaching for. Every time he touched it, he let out a little sigh of relief.

"Things aren't as fragile as you think they might be." She said softly, smiling at him. "Don't be so timid."

"I'm just not used to it." He murmured and looked back at her. 

"You should get used to it." She smiled a little. "Tifa wanted us to go to the bar once you woke up. I closed the shop for the day, so whenever you feel up to it, we should go see our friends." 

Vincent blinked a little, but nodded slowly. "Do we have to go tonight? Can't we just say I haven't woken up yet?" 

Aerith tilted her head. "You want to lie?" She arched a brow, but shook her head a bit. "Cloud already knows. He drove by and saw the closed sign and texted me." 

Vincent pouted a little, but nodded. "All right. I was just thinking..." He looked down at his hands. 

"Hm?" 

"Nothing." He smiled. "We should go."

"We should." She stood and walked over to him, leaning up on her tip-toes and wrapping her arms around his neck. "And tomorrow we should buy you some new clothes hm?" She giggled and kissed him.

He wrapped both arms around her and let his hands spread on her back, holding her close and pressing his face into her hair. He tensed a bit when he moved his arm, feeling it snag, hearing a tear of cloth and feeling her body shudder against him. He pulled his arms back and threw himself back from her, his eyes wide, lifting his hands to look at them, trembling.

"Vincent?" Aerith blinked and reached out to touch him, but he pushed her hand away. 

"Don't!" 

Her brows furrowed, but when she saw the way he was looking at his hands, horrified, she sighed a little and grabbed them both, despite his protests. "Stop. You didn't do anything."

"I just hurt you!"

"No. You didn't. Vincent you didn't hurt me at all."

"But your back...and the blood..."

Aerith let go of his hands and turned around, lifting her hair so he could see, there were no tears and no blood. "See? You didn't do anything. You're imagining it because you're so used to being afraid of it."

Vincent looked at her back and saw that he had, in fact, done nothing to hurt her, and when he looked back at his hands, they were trembling, but there was no blood. "I really didn't..."

She turned to face him again and smiled. "You really didn't." She took his hands again and looked up at him. "It'll be difficult, but I'll help you okay?"

He nodded.


	27. A Little Sweetness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 – Strawberry jam

Tifa placed a plate in front of Vincent as he sat at the bar. It was unusual for him, as he always preferred the table in the back corner, but he was feeling all sorts of out of place anyway, and at least here he could sit next to Aerith and take comfort in her presence. 

"What's this?" He asked softly. 

"Toast, with jam on the side if you want to try it." Tifa smiled. 

"If you haven't eaten in decades, it's best if you start with something light." Aerith smiled and patted his arm a little.

Vincent nodded and broke off a piece of the toast, looking at it before putting it in his mouth. He must have made a face because both Aerith and Tifa started to giggle. 

"Vincent, you have to chew it." Aerith managed before shaking her head and turning in her stool to look around the bar. "That girl hasn't come back since that day, has she?"

"We set her up in a small apartment, so she could be more independent." Tifa murmured. "She does come by, usually in the afternoon to see if she can help me, but I'm sure she'll avoid you two for a while."

Aerith nodded a little and looked at several of the patrons: they were the usual crowd, men stopping by after work before they headed home to their wives, a group of friends who always seemed to be here, some women trying to get the attention of some of the younger men. She turned a little to look at Vincent, and she laughed again. "You look like you've just sucked on a lemon."

"It's this stuff." He pointed to the jam. "It's weird."

"Poor thing. Is it too sweet?" Aerith smeared a little on her finger and tasted it. "Or maybe you just don't like strawberries?"

"I don't know." Vincent's nose wrinkled.

Aerith shook her head and looked at him. "Well you still have some right here." She leaned in and kissed him, licking the remaining jam off his lips.

"Oh please." Tifa rolled her eyes. "I can't imagine that doesn't taste sweeter than the jam."

Aerith blushed.


	28. Joyful Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 15 – Photograph

Aerith sat behind the counter of the shop, sorting through the mail when she blinked a little at one of the envelopes. "Cid sent us something." She called through the door to the apartment, opening the envelope and peering inside. "Oh!"

She pulled out a few pictures and smiled. "Shera had the baby. I guess she was hiding it longer than I thought." She looked up when Vincent came into the shop and looked down at the pictures she spread out on the counter. "Look at Cid, he looks so nervous." She laughed softly.

Vincent smiled just a little and nodded. "He does."

She read the letter that came with the pictures and smiled. "Do you want to go visit them?"

"Didn't it just happen? Shouldn't we wait a little for Shera to be okay?"

"It says she's ok." Aerith handed him the letter and smiled. "He said he would have called, but he was too busy freaking out himself. She had to yell at him to calm him down."

"Then we should go, shouldn't we?" Vincent handed the letter back and nodded. "I mean, we have the truck, so we can just take the ferry from Junon like we did a few months ago..." 

She nodded. "Why don't you pack? I'm going to make a gift basket for them." She jumped up and bustled around the shop, incredibly excited. "Oh this is great!"

Vincent nodded, but watched her for a moment. "Aerith...?"

"Hm?" She didn't turn to look at him as she pulled some flowers out of the coolers. 

He watched her a bit more. "Ah. Nothing important." He shook his head. "I'm going to call Tifa and tell her we'll be away for a few days."

"All right..." Aerith turned and watched him as he walked through the door. "You're a horrible liar, you know that?" She murmured before going back to the counter. "Next time you should just finish your thought."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He called from the other room.

"Like I said, horrible liar." Aerith shook her head and put the basket together. "Besides, we should wait until after Cloud and Tifa get married. I wouldn't be able to fit in my dress."

Vincent poked his head back out and looked at her, eyes wide. "What are you talking about?"

"Babies. That's what you were going to ask, wasn't it?"

Vincent colored and shook his head quickly as if to clear it, but he didn't deny it. Instead he stammered and went back into the other room.

Aerith blew a kiss after him. "You're easier to read than you think."


	29. Time Limit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20 – A bit of color

"Just like this." Cid sat on the couch with Vincent, grinning as he showed the quieter man how to hold the baby.

Aerith held a mug of tea and watched them, smiling a little. "Is this really a good idea? You know how paranoid Vincent is." She murmured to Shera.

The other woman chuckled a little. "Maybe not, but Cid's been talking about it all morning. 'First thing I'm making that Vampire do is hold her.' He kept saying. What a weirdo." She shook her head and smiled. 

"Well, they're both pretty weird aren't they?" Aerith smiled at her before she looked back at the men. "Weird, but cute."

Shera laughed. "I've never considered calling either of them cute before, but I can see it."

Vincent sat there, looking incredibly awkward as he held the baby girl. Cid chuckled and talked to him about it, occasionally looking over at Shera and Aerith. 

"Though I think Cid may be doing it to try to trick Vincent into thinking about making babies with you, dear." Shera smirked at Aerith, and the younger woman almost choked on her tea.

"What?" She coughed a little, but shook her head. "It's too late for that anyway. He's been thinking about it since he saw the photos you sent. He just isn't talking about it because he thinks he can hide things from me." She kept her voice low, since Vincent completely denied that when she brought it up on the ferry.

"Sometimes it's better to let the men think they know things." Shera nodded a little and chuckled again. "All right boys." She walked over and took the baby from Vincent. "Time for a nap." She smiled and left the room.

Aerith shook her head and sat down in one of the chairs, sipping her tea and looking at Vincent and Cid. "What?"

They were both looking at her, but Cid was the one who grinned. "So you two need to get on this and have a son so our little Mi can have a boyfriend."

"Cid..." Vincent groaned.

Aerith smiled softly. "Oh? Well Vincent has been thinking about it."

"I told you that's not true."

"And I told you that you're a horrible liar." Aerith nodded. "A son hm? What's your age difference limit, Cid?"

"Aerith!" Vincent shook his head.

"Two years tops, sweetie." Cid laughed.

Aerith put her mug down on the table and got up, walking to the couch and sliding into Vincent's lap. "You hear that? Two years. That gives us enough time to wait until after Cloud and Tifa's wedding."

"That's next month."

"Oh! Then we can get started tonight, can't we? I won't show in a month." Aerith kissed Vincent before he could protest. He just sat there, dumbfounded even when she pulled back, but he was red as a tomato.

Cid fell off the couch laughing.


	30. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 29 – Secret joy

"Were you serious before?" Vincent sat on the edge of the bed and watched Aerith braid her hair before bed. "What you said in front of Cid?"

"About having a baby?" Aerith arched a brow at him. "He gave us an ultimatum, didn't he?"

"Yes, but...tonight? We're..." Vincent shook his head a little. 

"No. I was joking about that. It wouldn't be polite when we're guests in their home." She finished braiding her hair and walked to the bed, scooting up on it and smiling at him. "And it's a little embarrassing to do that when other people are around, even if they're in the next room."

"Well, we...at the inn."

"That was a long time ago, and we were both a mess that night." She shook her head and leaned against his side. "Besides..." She trailed off a little and shook her head, leaning up to kiss his cheek before she moved into the bed proper and curled up under the covers.

Vincent blinked and turned to look at her. "What is it?" He also got into the bed, turning so he was facing her, but she moved a bit so her back was to him. "Aerith? Did I say something wrong?"

"No." She said softly, "It's nothing."

"You're also a bad liar."

"I know, why do you think I'm not looking at you?"

Vincent sighed and gently pulled her shoulder so she would roll onto her back, and before she could move again, he gently took her chin in his hand and turned her head so she would look at him. "So tell me."

Aerith's eyes were wide when she looked at him, her cheeks flushing the longer she remained silent.

"Aerith?"

She sighed a little and slowly sat up, her hands falling into her lap. Vincent sat up as well and took her hands in his. She breathed in sharply before lifting her head to look at him again. "You have to promise not to get mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Just promise me, Vincent..."

"I promise." He said softly and lifted her hands to his lips, kissing her fingertips lightly while he watched her.

"We will have no problem with Cid's ultimatum." She looked off to the side. "In fact...we'll get it done over a year early."

"Eh?" Vincent's eyes widened. "Over a year...? Then that means...you're already..."

Aerith nodded slightly. 

"What? When?"

Aerith bowed her head. "The night I fully healed you..." She shifted a little. "I should have told you...but there was just so much going on."

Vincent shook his head and let go of one of her hands to lift her chin, though both of his hands trembled. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. Are you okay?"

Vincent nodded a little, cupping her cheek and brushing his thumb over her lower lip. "And...it's okay for us to...?"

Aerith managed a little smile and lifted her hand to rest on his. "I think so. Do you not want to be?"

"I just didn't think it could ever happen. I'm in shock, you know." 

Aerith laughed softly and moved, putting her arms around his neck and pressing her face against his shoulder, hugging him awkwardly. "You have some months to get over that."

"And it's definitely... Cid joked about us having a son."

"It's definitely going to be a boy." Aerith murmured against his shoulder. "And I know that because I just do. Okay?"

Vincent nodded and held her, pulling her into a less awkward position as he pressed his face into her hair. 

"Let's not tell anyone yet though okay?" She whispered. "Cloud and Tifa's wedding is too soon..I don't want to take away from that."

Vincent nodded a little and kissed the top of her hair. "Anything you want."


	31. A Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 59 – Fancy dress

Aerith sat patiently in the chair as she watched Tifa pace back and forth. "It'll be fine." She said as she watched the other woman grow increasingly nervous. "You look amazing. The place is perfect, the flowers are ready. I promise, it'll be fine."

"What if I mess up?" Tifa stopped pacing and looked at her. "What if he says no?"

Aerith shook her head. "He won't say no. He asked you to marry him, so of course he'll say yes."

"But..."

Aerith stood and took her friend's hands, smiling softly. "Tifa. Cloud loves you. If anything happens, he'll be so enamored by your beauty that he won't be able to do more than stand there with his mouth open."

Tifa smiled a little. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Come on. It's time okay?" She held her friend's hand until they got to the staging area, where she handed her friend off to Cid. "Take care of her, Dad." She winked at him before she took her place beside Vincent.

He glanced at her before he leaned over and whispered. "You look really nice." 

The ceremony itself went by in a flash. Cloud did stand there, jaw dropped when Tifa walked to him, and he looked incredibly nervous the whole time. But it went off without a problem, and soon everyone was celebrating at the reception. 

Shelke was there, and at one point she pulled Vincent to the side to talk to him. Aerith watched for the first few seconds, but she went to sit with Cid. "How's the little one?" She asked, resting a hand on his arm. 

"Shera's feeding her right now." He grinned and nodded to where Vincent was talking to Shelke. "What's up with that?"

Aerith shrugged a little. "She hates me because she thinks I ruined him. It's fine."

Cid laughed a little. "Jealousy eh? Poor girl never stood a chance." He grinned at her. "So anything else to report, kiddo?"

Aerith arched a brow at him. "Oh? Did marriage and having a kid knock a screws loose up there? Since when are you so nosy?"

"Just lookin' out for ya, sweetie." He smirked and took a sip of his water, looking up as Vincent came back and sat down next to Aerith, taking her hand. "Everything okay, Vin?"

Vincent nodded a little. 

"Hm." Cid watched him for a moment. "Gotta beat'em off with a stick when your dressed all fancy-like?"

Aerith laughed a little. "He does look a bit awkward doesn't he?" She let go of Vincent's hand long enough to turn and adjust his bow tie. "I just got him to stop wearing all black, too." She leaned up and kissed his cheek before settling back down and taking his hand again. 

"I always look awkward."

Cid laughed and grinned more as Shera sat down, cradling little Mira in her arms. "Ain't that the truth."


	32. That Look

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 – Eyes

Vincent sat at a table with Cloud, watching the girls talk at the bar. He could hear their voices over the general din of the room, but he couldn't quite make out the words.

It worried him slightly, as Tifa kept looking back at them, an unreadable look on her face. At one point, he thought her eyes were cold, but maybe he was just imagining it.

Cloud drank his beer and looked between Vincent and the women, arching a brow "Did you do something?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Vincent shook his head and looked at him. "I don't know what she's telling Tifa to make her look at me like that."

Cloud nodded once and looked over at the women again. Tifa smiled at him before she went back to talking to Aerith. "Weird." He said.

Vincent nodded and looked down a bit, only looking up again when Tifa put a glass down on the table in front of him. "Here." 

He blinked at her and arched a brow. "Eh? What?"

"It's beer stupid. For you." Tifa smirked slightly.

"Well, yes, I know that, but why?" Vincent's brow furrowed.

"Aerith said she thinks you'll need to get used to drinking again because once she starts getting hormonal she'll probably end up sending you here to spend time with Cloud, so she doesn't have to deal with you hovering and asking her a thousand times if she's okay, or if the baby's all right."

"What? Aerith's pregnant?" Cloud's eyes widened. "Vincent, you dog!"

Vincent blinked, but looked over at Aerith. She was smirking a bit, but she blew him a kiss and started laughing a bit after.

"Drink up, daddy. You're going to need it." Tifa laughed and walked back to the bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh the themes are getting harder to connect if I want to make each little ficlet go together. D:


	33. Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 89 – Utopia

It was a small ceremony, just their closest friends: their original group. They stood barefoot on a small beach just beyond the borders of Costa Del Sol, watching as the sun slowly sank beyond the horizon.

Aerith rested her hand on her stomach as she listened to Cid read from the small book. She smiled, glancing up at Vincent who stood there stiff as a board. At one point she nudged him to try to get him to relax, but he didn't move. Poor thing.

Cid chuckled a little at Vincent's incredibly over eager 'I do." Everyone did.

Aerith turned Vincent and pulled him down for their kiss, smiling against his lips when he seemed to realize what was happening. He smiled a little and hugged her.

Everyone cheered and threw flower petals. Aerith was all smiles when they came up to talk to the newlywed couple.

It was short, it was quiet, and it was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short ficlet is short! :O


	34. Child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100 – Joy doubled, sorrow halved

Vincent paced outside the door as he tried to listen for any sounds of distress. He bit his lip a little and paused every few steps, leaning towards the door before starting his pace again.

"This is why she told you to stay out here, you know." Cloud watched his friend pace back and forth. "You're making me nervous and I'm not the one having a baby right now."

Vincent stopped and sat down next to Cloud, nodding a little. "I know, but I can't help it..." He said softly, jumping up when there was a particularly loud yell.

"Vincent, if she wasn't ok, Tifa would have come out to tell you." Cloud sat back. "You have less to worry about than any of us. You know Aerith can't die again."

Vincent took a step towards the door, but stopped when it swung open and Tifa was staring up at him. "I thought we told you to stay put?" She smirked. From the open doorway, he could see Aerith laying on the bed, panting, eyes closed. There was a small, consistent cry. "Anyway, Daddy. You need to wait a little longer. She's fine. Your son is fine. But she needs a moment because she doesn't want you fussing over her."

"Impossible not to..." Vincent shuffled and tried to peer into the room.

Tifa gently pushed him back a little. "Vincent..."

"No it's ok. Let him in." Aerith's eyes were open now, and she was cradling the small crying bundle. 

Vincent stepped in and rushed to Aerith's side, his eyes wide with worry. "Are you okay?"

Aerith looked up at him tiredly. "Regardless of what I tell you, you're still going to worry and panic for nothing." She shook her head. "I'm fine. Little Hiro is fine, too."

He looked down at the baby then, the worry softening to something more gentle as he reached out to touch the baby's little head. 

"I am going to sleep for a bit. You can stay here if you promise not to hover, or Tifa can stay with me." She looked at him.

"I'll stay." Vincent leaned down and kissed the top of her head.


	35. Good Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 68 – Lullaby

Aerith watched Vincent from the doorway. He tried to give her some time to relax by taking care of Hiro for the night. It was a nice gesture, one she certainly appreciated, but Hiro had been crying for a while now, and Vincent seemed a little lost.

She stepped into the room and gently took the baby from his arms, cradling him and smiling softly. "Shhh. You should be sleeping, little man." She offered Vincent a smile before she started to hum softly.

Vincent sat on the couch and watched her move around the room, Hiro's cries softening before finally quieting when he fell asleep.

Of course, her little lullaby seemed to put Vincent to sleep, too. She shook her head, leaned over and kissed the top of his, and carried Hiro to the other room, humming as she went.


	36. Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 36 – Just like this

Vincent sat on the couch, holding Hiro in his arms and smiled softly as he watched Aerith sleep in the chair. Everything had been a little crazy these past few weeks, and Aerith was always doing her best to keep up, but sometimes it overwhelmed her and she just needed time to rest.

Today was one of those days.

Vincent slowly rocked the baby in his arms, glancing up when Aerith stirred, but she simply got up, moved to the couch next to him, and leaned against his side as she fell asleep.

"You should go to bed," he whispered softly, knowing she wasn't going to hear him. And he sat there, his family apparently deciding that he made a better mattress than the bed. He kissed the top of Aerith's head and rested his cheek against it, closing his eyes as he fell into a light sleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh so short!


	37. On the Road Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 74 – Voice

"This was Yuffie's idea again wasn't it?" Aerith turned around in her seat to check on her son as he slept. "Though at least it's the Canyon this time and not the Saucer." She rolled her eyes a little and straightened back up. 

"I know." Vincent murmured as he drove. "At least Cid and Shera will both be there this time?"

"Mira's almost a year old, isn't she? Maybe I should have stayed home. Hiro's too young..."

"He's just going to eat and sleep anyway." Vincent glanced at her. "Do you want me to turn around?"

"And go back on the ferry so soon? No thank you." She shook her head and looked out the window. "It's Cid's fault for getting so excited about it anyway. Something about getting them started early." She laughed a little. "He does realize that they're babies, right? They're not going to remember any of this?"

"He said he bought a new camera."

Aerith groaned. "Of course he did..."

Vincent shook his head a little. "We'll be there in time for dinner at least. You can rest while I drive, I don't mind."

"Oh?" She turned her head to look at him. "Why? Am I boring you?" 

"What? No." Vincent answered quickly, though he made a bit of a face when Aerith started to laugh. "I still can't tell when you're joking." 

"I know, that's why it's fun." She patted his arm."Should I warn you next time?"

"So in five minutes?" 

Aerith laughed again and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I can wait ten if that would make you feel better?"

"If it makes you happy..." Vincent shook his head again. 

"Don't be silly. You react, and you're more open now than you were last year, so that's what makes me happy." She smiled softly and settled back into her seat. "You smile more, too, and I like hearing you laugh."

"Then I will do my best to please you." 

"Oh, how chivalrous." She laughed a little and looked out the window again.


	38. The Candle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 16 – Celebration

Aerith and Shera sat further away from the large bonfire, holding their babies as they watched the others talk and laugh. Every time Vincent or Cid came over, they would just look at them and send them back to the party. 

"Men." Shera chuckled. "I imagine Vincent's a helicopter? He's gotta be worse than Cid, and he hovers."

"He's gotten better." Aerith smiled and watched the others. Yuffie was trying to get Vincent to dance with her, but that was a fruitless effort. Cid laughed as she finally gave up and came for him. 

"Apparently he hasn't gotten better at the socializing bit." Shera smirked. "Cid hasn't gotten any better at dancing, either."

"Poor Yuffie. The only one remotely able to keep up with her energy is Red, and he seems more content to laugh at everyone." Aerith shifted a little and smiled. "But this is nice."

"It is." Shera agreed and laughed a little when Yuffie wore Cid out.

Vincent came over again, but this time he brought some food for them as he sat between them. 

Aerith glanced at him, then laughed. "You can't enjoy yourself unless you're back here, can you?"

"That's not true." Vincent shook his head and watched the others. "I'm enjoying myself. I'm just more comfortable here with you."

"Ugh. Stop being so sweet. I'm going to get cavities." Shera chuckled and handed Mira over to Cid as he sat down on her other side. "And the other old man here is pooped hm?"

Cid shook his head. "If I didn't say it, she wouldn't have let me stop. Damn girl has more energy than should be possible." He grinned and held Mira on his lap.

Aerith nodded and handed Hiro over to Vincent, kissing him on the cheek before she stood and took Shera's hand. "Our turn to have some fun hm?" 

Shera laughed and went with her to join the others.

"Women." Cid chuckled. Vincent nodded.


	39. Moonlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 25 – Midsummer moon

"Are you okay?" Aerith sat down next to Vincent as he sat perched on one of the cliffs. 

"Hm? Yes." Vincent nodded and glanced at her. "Weren't you asleep?" 

"No, I was up talking with Cid. Shera went to bed, but offered to let Hiro sleep with Mira, so she could keep an eye on both of them." She swung her legs back and forth a bit as she leaned back on her hands and looked up at the sky. 

"I see." Vincent shifted to sit the way she was, with his legs dangling down. "I just came out here to look at the sky."

"It's nice." Aerith smiled. "The moon is huge, though. No wonder it's so bright out." She turned her head to look at him. "But you're really okay? You seemed a little off at the party earlier."

He looked at her and shrugged. "I'm always like that."

"No. You used to always be like that. I haven't seen you act that way since I came back." Aerith shook her head. "Did something happen?"

"No."

"All right..." Aerith looked back at the sky. 

"If something was wrong, I would tell you." Vincent said after several long moments of silence. "I wouldn't hide it from you." He glanced at her and grinned. "I know better than to hide things from you."

"Oh?" She sat up and turned towards him. "Am I that scary?"

"Scary? No. But when you pout...?"

"Like this?" Aerith looked at him and pouted just slightly.

Vincent smirked just slightly. "Yes." He leaned in and kissed that pout. "It doesn't work if you're doing it for no reason though."

"What if I did it so you'd kiss me?" Aerith smiled and tapped his nose. "It worked, didn't it?"

"So sly." Vincent chuckled and kissed her again.


	40. Paint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 78 – Body art

At Mira's first birthday party, which she most certainly wouldn't remember except for the embarrassing pictures Cid was taking of everyone, Shera and Aerith had allowed the children to play with edible finger paint.

What a mistake that was.

Not because it was dangerous, but because Mira thought it was hilarious to put blue hand-prints on everyone. Hiro tried to do the same with red, as best he could anyway.

So here they were, a punch of adults with blue flour handprints and red smears all over clothes and faces. Vincent got the worst of it, but that was mostly because he picked Hiro up after about three minutes of spilling it on the floor and rolling around in it.

Aerith laughed a little and handed a cloth to Vincent so he could get most of the red off his face, using another cloth to wrap around Hiro's messy clothes as she took him from Vincent's arms. "I think it's bath time for this little guy." She said, leaning in and kissing a clean spot on Vincent's cheek. "Though you may need a bath more than he does." She giggled a little.

Cid made sure to take several pictures.


	41. An Affair?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 64 – Mistranslation

Aerith sat behind the counter at the shop, humming as she curled some ribbons. 

"I think Cloud's getting bored..." Tifa sat across from her, sighing slightly.

"Not with you, certainly?" Aerith looked up at her friend and blinked. 

The other woman shook her head. "No. Not with me, I'd kill him if he did that." She grinned slightly before the sighing returned. "I mean with everything being so peaceful. Yesterday he got home from making his deliveries and went out back and got his sword, and left again." She frowned a little. "He didn't come back until I was closing the bar."

Aerith stopped curling ribbons and frowned. "Last night? Vincent left, saying he was going to talk to Cloud about something, and he didn't come home until late. I just assumed he was at the bar with you guys."

Tifa blinked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were having an affair with each other." She laughed a little, but it didn't help to lift her mood. "Do you think they're both getting restless?"

"I don't think Vincent knows how to be restless..." Aerith shook her head. "I'll ask him." She stood and opened the door into the apartment. "Vincent?" 

He came out a moment later, blinking. "Something wrong?"

"Are you cheating on me with Cloud?" 

Tifa burst out laughing. "Aerith!"

The look on Vincent's face was priceless. His eyes widened and his mouth opened, closed, and opened again. 

Aerith shook her head a little. "Seriously though. Where did you two go last night?"

He looked off to the side and shuffled a little. "I can't...I promised."

She glanced back at Tifa before looking back at him. "Is that so...?" She went back to her stool and started curling ribbons again, saying nothing.

Tifa looked at her, then Vincent. She arched a brow as she watched him become increasingly uncomfortable. But he just stood there, unsure what to say.

"Well, I'm going out tonight, so you'll have to watch Hiro." Aerith said after a moment.

Vincent shifted again. "But..."

"Oh, did you have plans with Cloud?" She kept her eyes on the ribbon, though the corners of her mouth turned up a little. "That's fine. I'll cancel my plans then." Tifa had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

Vincent sighed and bowed his head. "...It's practice. Cloud...is practicing because he overheard some men talking about Tifa, and he wants to make sure they know that he'll kill them if they flirt with her."

Tifa blinked, but laughed again. Aerith looked over her shoulder at him and arched a brow. "Why is that a secret?"

"He's embarrassed."

"That's because he's a baby." Tifa shook her head. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Guys flirt with me all the time. They flirt with Aerith, too."

"What?" Vincent's eyes widened. 

Aerith laughed. "Oh? Do you need to go practice being scary, Vincent? You two are such boys. You can't go threatening everyone who talks to us." 

"Yes we can."

"Then we can threaten every girl that looks at you?"

"No girls look at us."

Tifa and Aerith both looked at him flatly. "I don't know what's worse," Tifa murmured, "the jealousy or the cluelessness."

Aerith smiled a little. "Equally as bad, I imagine." She stood and walked over to Vincent. "Stop being so secretive, hm?" She started to push him back into the apartment. 

Vincent looked at her and didn't budge. "Guys really flirt with you?" He looked concerned.

Aerith smirked and leaned up to kiss him. "Why, are you worried?" She pushed him again. "Go."


	42. Squeak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14 – Vaseline

Vincent grumbled softly as he sat on the ground in front of the door to Hiro's bedroom. The hinges were old, and they had been sticking as of late, so he was in the process of trying to get them to work again.

He should have just called and asked Cid for help, but Aerith told him not to bother him with something so easy and trivial. Easy and trivial. The damn thing was still sticking no matter what he tried to do.

He could hear Aerith's giggle from the kitchen. She apparently found this all so amusing. Of course she did. She wasn't the one on the floor, cursing at an old metal hinge.

Hiro crawled over to him and watched him, his bright teal eyes staring at him in wonder. He babbled a little, but Vincent just looked at him. "You think this is funny too, don't you?" 

"Oh don't get mad." Aerith walked past him as she entered the baby's room and opened opened the diaper cabinet, pulling out a small jar of petroleum jelly and putting it on the floor. "Just use this and stop with all the rage at an old piece of metal, would you?" She straightened up and ran a hand over the top of his head as if she were petting a puppy. Hiro giggled.

"Why didn't you say this in the first place?" He looked up at her and pouted. 

"Because listening to you try was so cute." 

He grabbed her and tugged her down in to his lap. "I should punish you for making fun of me."

"Oh? And how are you going to do that?" Aerith looked at him, laughing.

She got him there. Vincent was never good with being playful, so he leaned in and gave her an overly hot kiss, smirking when her cheeks flushed, and gently pushing her out of his lap. "You need to get back to cooking or it's going to burn."

Aerith managed a little nod before she scrambled up and ran into the kitchen.


	43. Crash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 – Path of sin

"He's like a little terror." Aerith groaned as she cleaned up yet another mess Hiro made in his quest to walk. "He gets this from you, doesn't he?"

Vincent shrugged, watching his son try to wobble from one side of the couch to the other. "But he's been trying extra hard ever since he saw Mira walking."

"Well, don't just sit there. Help him." She muttered as there was another crash. Somehow Hiro managed to knock over the potted plant on the coffee table, even though he was standing with both hands on the couch. 

Vincent nodded and picked the little one up, walking to a clear section of the room and sitting on the floor, trying to teach him how to step.

Aerith continued to clean, muttering all the while. Crash. "Damnit!"

Vincent blinked, still holding Hiro's hands. "That wasn't us, Aerith."

She sat up and looked at them. "Then what was it?" 

Vincent shook his head. "Did you bump the table when you were cleaning the soil?" 

"No. Nothing else fell from here." 

Another crash. Vincent stood and walked to the kitchen. "...Oh." He groaned. "We forgot to close the window." He held up a small dog. It apparently jumped into the house and knocked over whatever was on the counter. "It...would be better if you stayed out there though." He said as he let the dog out and shut the window.

"Why...?"

"You don't want to see the mess it made. I'll clean it."


	44. Hi!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4 – Words

Hiro was a very quiet child. Even at sixteen months, he barely made any noise beyond the occasional giggle or his crying. So it was a little startling when he walked over to Vincent one morning and grabbed the fabric of his pants and said, "Hi Daddy."

Aerith lifted her head and smiled a little. She had been concerned, since Hiro usually just reacted to people's words, rather than joined in. The only one he ever really 'talked' to was Mira when they visited. Then the babbling never stopped, but at home? 

Vincent picked Hiro up and smiled. "Hello, Hiro." 

Hiro smiled and patted his cheeks a little before he squirmed out of his arms and walked to Aerith and did the same. "Hi Mommy!"

She smiled and put her book down. "Hi Hiro." She ruffled his hair a little and he gigged. She exchanged a look with Vincent, but looked back down at her son. "Mommy's very proud of you." She leaned down and kissed the top of his head.

Hiro smiled and hugged her legs before he went back to play with his toy. 

After a few minutes, he brought his toy over to Vincent and held it up to him. "Play."

Vincent was more than happy to oblige.


	45. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 73 – Eclipse

Hiro was barely two when the crisis came. 

No one knew it was coming. No one even had a chance to prepare. Vincent was the first to notice, if only because he was sitting outside at four in the morning. He looked up at the sky, but it wasn't the same sky he had seen every night. It wasn't that purplish-black it usually was. There were no stars, and there was no moon.

The sky was red. A deep, blood red. The first thing he did was run inside to check on Aerith and Hiro, but both were asleep. The second thing was to call Cloud. There was some brief panic, but soon Cloud arrived with a sleepy Tifa. By then, Aerith was awake and staring up at the sky. 

Cid was the next person Vincent spoke to. Then Yuffie. Then Red and Reeve. Everyone saw it. This wasn't some freak, isolated instance. This was real.

Aerith continued to stand out in the garden, looking up at the sky. The flowers around her began to wilt. 

Cloud was the first to feel the pain. He doubled over and grabbed his head. "Someone's laughing." He said through gritted teeth. Vincent heard it not too long after, but only winced slightly. 

"It's coming." Aerith said softly, her skin paler than usual as she came back into the house. "It's coming, whatever it is." Her eyes were dull, and she went into Hiro's room to get him. 

"What do we do?" Tifa had her hand on Cloud's back as he clutched his head.

"I don't know." Aerith murmured. "Nothing I tried worked." She sat on the couch and held Hiro in her lap. He was surprisingly calm given the level of panic in the room.

Vincent rested a hand on his head and sighed.

Hiro looked up at both of his parents and smiled. He reached up and grabbed a fistful of Vincent's hair, doing the same with Aerith's. "Is ok." He said, still smiling.

Tears came to Aerith's eyes and she pressed a kiss to the top of her son's head. "I hope so..."

There was a flash.

Everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going super AU to play with some of the rest of the themes. :( What better way to kick that off than a mysterious crisis? :O Bye bye canon!


	46. A New Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9 – Illusion

Aerith woke with a start. She lifted her hand to her head and groaned. She must have had some kind of nightmare because her head was throbbing. "The hell..." She muttered before she slid out of bed and stretched. The sunlight was just filtering through the curtains, so she opened them and smiled a little.

"Damnit Aerith. It's too early for your Snow White routine." Tifa groaned and covered her head with her pillow. "It's not even eight yet."

Aerith smiled innocently as she closed the curtains enough to keep the light from filling too much of the room. "Sorry. I thought you were going to rig something up there to keep the light out?" She stepped on the ladder and looked at her friend, or the lump that was her friend, in the top bunk. 

"Lazy." Tifa groaned.

"Well, you should get up anyway. Don't you have a nine am today?"

"Oh shit!" Tifa threw the pillow off her head and scrambled down the ladder as soon as Aerith stepped back. "Thanks!" She managed to say as she grabbed her things and ran out to shower.

Aerith smiled and shook her head a little, taking her time to gather her things and head to the bathroom. It was like this almost every day. She never understood why Tifa took such early classes if she hated getting up in the morning, but she did this last semester, too. Maybe she had to do it? Tifa was majoring in restaurant management, so maybe those business classes were early? Or maybe she shouldn't be out so late "doing market research" at the bars. 

After showering, Aerith came back to the dorm room, still all smiles as she got ready. She smoothed out her skirt, thankful that today wasn't a lab day before she grabbed her tote and headed out.

Midgar University was a sprawling campus, as it really was the only university. It was also incredibly convenient, since she grew up in Midgar. She could have stayed at home with her parents, but commuting was too much of a hassle, so her mother reluctantly agreed to let her stay in a dorm. So it was spring semester of her freshman year, and she was enjoying it immensely.

"Aerith!" She turned her head at the voice and smiled. Cloud waved to her from the path, all grin and crazy hair.

"Cloud!" She ran down the stairs and practically crashed into him when she hugged him. He laughed and spun her around before giving her a quick kiss. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a job." He grinned and took her hand. "And I should be able to get in next semester, if I can do a work study to help with the tuition." He glanced at her. "You'll never get rid of me now!"

"Oh don't be silly." Aerith smiled and walked with him a little. "What are you going to be doing?"

"Deliveries mostly. Easy, right?" He grinned. "But I wanted to see you before I went to start." He squeezed her hand before kissing her cheek. "I'll come by after if that's ok?"

"I get done with classes at 3, so don't come too early or Tifa might try to con you into drinking with her again." She looked at him and arched a brow. 

"Got it!" He winked and let go of her hand, walking down one of the paths while she walked down the other.

On the way to the biology building, she passed Yuffie, who looked like she was in a rush, as usual, so she simply waved at her friend. When she saw Barret, the security guard chasing after her, she figured Yuffie let her dog run around in the quad again. She laughed a little.

The small lecture hall was mostly empty, which was fine with her. She liked getting there early. She wasn't the only one either. In the back corner was that senior. She never caught his name, but he always just sat in the back, and Aerith just assumed he was taking this class to get rid of a gen. ed. requirement.

"Oh, Aerith!"

She looked up, blinking at Professor Gast as he waved her over. "Yes Professor?" She smiled, but she couldn't hold it before she burst into giggles. She always found it amusing that her father was her professor, but she made sure to keep it a secret.

He rolled his eyes, but chuckled a little. "I have to change your lab partner." He said after a moment. "I'm sorry."

"Eh? Is something wrong with Rufus?" She smiled. 

"Hm. Nothing beyond the fact that he annoys me, and I know he's too busy staring at you to actually do his share of the work, so I'm partnering him with Reno instead. You'll have to work with Reno's old partner." Gast nodded up to the corner where the senior was sitting. "Vincent's quiet, but he'll do his work."

Aerith nodded. "All right." She smiled and walked up to the back of the lecture hall, looking at Vincent with an innocent smile. "Hey, Vincent, right? I'm your new lab partner. My name's Aerith. Do you mind if I sit here?" She nodded to the empty seat next to him.

Vincent looked up and shook his head a little, pulling his bag from the seat so she could sit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the "new crisis" AU begin!


	47. Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 80 – Place

Aerith tried to learn as much about her new lab partner as she could before lecture started. She had been correct about him, at least in that he was taking this for a gen. ed. credit. He was a history major, with minor in anthropology. Apparently he decided on history because it meant he didn't have to talk to many people.

She was attentive during lecture, as always, taking her notes and watching the professor bustle around as he happily explained everything. She smiled a little. She never knew he could be so animated until she came here. When she was at home, he was all seriousness and work and 'Aerith you can't wear that' and 'ask your mother' about everything.

She drew little flowers in the margins of her notebook and continued to be completely caught up in the lecture. Occasionally she tapped her pen to her lips, but she never noticed Vincent looking at her throughout the hour.

When lecture finished, Aerith packed her things and turned to smile at him. "See you Wednesday." She smiled and slid out of her seat and out of the hall. 

"Aerith!" She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. When she saw Rufus, she let out an audible groan. 

"What is it, Rufus?"

"Why'd you go and get our lab switched? Was it because of what I said last week?" He was frowning at her, and she blinked at him. 

"I didn't do it. It was a surprise to me when I was told before lecture." She tilted her head a little. "I didn't tell the professor what you said." But her somewhat clueless expression shifted to something a little darker, her lips set in a frown. "I did tell Cloud though."

Rufus stepped back. "What? You said—"

"I said if you stopped, I wouldn't tell Professor Gast." She frowned at him. "I never said I wouldn't tell my boyfriend. This is not the place for you to start something."

Rufus reached out to grab her arm, but was stopped when Vincent grabbed his wrist before he could. He frowned, and turned to yell at whoever did that, but he stopped and stared.

"You shouldn't harass her just because I complained to the professor about my lab partner. That's why you were switched. You're the only one in class who likes Reno." He said smoothly, letting go of his wrist and staying close to Aerith's side. "About the other thing, our whole side of the lab heard it, so it would be in your best interest if you dropped it and left her alone."

Rufus stared at him and went pale. He nodded once and looked back at Aerith. "It must be nice being friends with a military brat." He muttered before he walked off.

"Are you okay?"

Aerith looked at Vincent and nodded a little, smiling. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that. Rufus is very easy to handle." 

"If he bothers you again, tell me." Vincent shrugged and walked away.

Aerith shook her head and headed to her next class.


	48. Unseen End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 87 – Spiral

"That idiot is still bothering you?" Cloud sat on the floor with his back against Aerith's bed, turning his head up a bit to look at her. "Do you want me to go knock some sense into him?"

Aerith looked from her book to smile at him. "No. That senior handled it, I think."

"Well don't you just have a line of admirers."

"Oh shut up. Dad made him my new lab partner because he thinks Rufus is a waste of space." Aerith laughed a little and put her pen down in her book. "How was work?"

"Good." He stretched his arms out in front of him a bit. "I think it's going to work out, and then I can take classes next semester, like I said."

"Great! Then you can get stuck in and endless loop of homework like the rest of us." 

"And eat the horrible dining hall food." He grinned.

"And wait for free showers in the bathroom." She laughed and sat up, tucking her legs beneath her. "When do you have to be home?"

"Hm. Soon probably." He stood and looked at her, his face much more serious than usual. "Apparently my brother's back in town..." 

Aerith blinked, but nodded slowly. "Zack is? After all this time?" She reached out and took his hand. "Do you want to stay here instead?"

"That's not a good idea." He squeezed her hand and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Mom will kill me if I avoid him. Thank you though. "

"If you change your mind, just call. I'll let you in." She smiled and slid off the bed to walk with him to the door. 

"I will." He kissed her, smiling a bit against her lips before he ducked out of the dorm. Aerith sighed a little and went back to her room, leaning against the door once she closed it behind her. She should have been more insistent, but Cloud wouldn't have listened to her even if she stomped her foot and whined about it. So she made sure her phone was on and charged, and she went back to doing her homework.

She lost track of time, so she jumped when the phone rang two hours later. It was Cloud. That worried her more than she would admit. "Cloud? Are you okay?" 

"Um..." She didn't like how silent it was on the other end. 

"Cloud?"

"I can't see you anymore, Aerith..." He said after the long silence. "I'm sorry." 

Before she could even get out any sound in reaction, he hung up the phone. She just stood there, her hand trembling as she pulled the phone away from her ear. That wasn't like him. And he wouldn't have just called her to dump her out of nowhere, so something had to happen.

But calling him back terrified her, partially because she knew he wouldn't answer, but also because she didn't know what he would say if he did.

When Tifa returned a few minutes later, Aerith was still standing there. "What happened?" She ran to her friend and rested her hands on her shoulders. "Aerith? What's wrong?"

"Cloud...just...I don't know why, but something has to be wrong." She managed, lifting her hand to her face to wipe her tears. 

"He dumped you? What the hell?" Tifa frowned and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry..."

"I don't know why...Today he said Zack was back, and..." She groaned. Of course that was it. Zack must have said something. "I'm going to go there."

"You can't. You know that." Tifa shook her head. "It's too late. By the time you get there, you won't be able to get back. Listen. I only have morning class tomorrow, so I'll go with you when you're done with classes, okay?"

Aerith nodded and sighed.


	49. Going Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 83 – Pillar of strength

Aerith sat in the campus coffee shop, her head bowed. Her hands cupped the mug as she watched the steam swirl just above the tea's surface.

Cloud sat across from her, poking at a bagel. He wouldn't look at her, and that only made her want to shrink into herself even more. She sighed a little and blinked back any tears that threatened to form.

"Listen..." He finally said, still not looking at her. "About the other day..."

She glanced up at him, frowning.

"I don't expect you to forgive me. I should have called you back later that night, but Zack was hovering around me until I went to bed, and by then I knew you'd be asleep." He shook his head. "I only said that to get him off my back because he was bothering me about you."

Aerith shook her head. "And you couldn't have told me the next day? Or texted me for me to see in the morning? Do you think I could have slept after that?"

"I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."

"So what am I supposed to do?" She sighed and sat back in her chair. "You dumped me because your brother was annoying you?"

"He was saying really bad things. I was worried he would try to get to you somehow. Even today, he tried to follow me to work, but I managed to lose him on the way." He frowned. "His obsession with you is creepy."

"I don't understand why he's like that." She looked back down at her tea. "We went to one dance together. He left to join the army. That was it."

"Everyone seems to know that but him. I should have tried to protect you a different way, I'm sorry."

She glanced down at her watch and sighed. "I have to go to class." She stood. "Maybe I'll see you around."

"Aerith, this isn't..."

"Cloud." Aerith shook her head. "Your first thought in all of this was to break up with me."

"To protect you!"

"But still to break up with me. That hurts, you know?" She sighed and looked at him. "It wasn't to tell him to stop. It wasn't even to complain to your parents about it. It was to get rid of me. There's no way I can recover from that right now." She turned and walked back to the counter, handing over the mug.

Class seemed like a blur. She sat in her seat and took her notes as usual. but she kept her head down for the most part, except when she needed to look up to see what the professor was saying.

She could see Vincent look at her every so often, probably out of concern, but she didn't acknowledge it. Doing so meant she might have to talk about it, though somewhere she knew Vincent would never push it. 

After class, she gathered her things with a sigh and stood.

"Aerith?" Vincent's voice was quieter than usual. "Are you okay?"

She turned to look at him. He blinked a little and nodded, as if her look was enough to convey what she was feeling.

"Do you have a class now?"

"No. I have my writing class in two hours." She shifted a little. "I was going to go to the library."

"Then let me walk you there." He smiled, or at least it was probably a smile, since his lips barely moved.

"Thank you." She nodded and walked with him. They were both silent as they walked, but she felt oddly comforted by it. She knew he wouldn't ask her about it, and for that she was grateful. When they arrived, she turned to him and said a soft thank you again.

He nodded and took out a small piece of paper, scribbling something on it before handing it to her. "See you Friday." He said before he left.

Aerith looked down at the paper and arched a brow. His handwriting was a mess, but it looked like he took care to make sure the numbers were legible. She tucked it into her bag and stepped into the library.


	50. Curious Behavior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 42 – Riddle

After the conversation with Cloud, Aerith didn't think she'd be comfortable coming back to the cafe any time soon, but it was a lot easier than she thought it would be. She sat at a table in the corner, legs tucked underneath her as she read her textbook. She slowly drank from a mug of hot chocolate, scribbling notes as she worked.

She was so involved that she jumped when the chair across from her moved and Vincent sat down. "Jesus. Vincent. You scared me."

"Sorry. I said your name, but you obviously didn't hear me." He said softly and looked at her. 

She put her pen down and blinked at him. "Oh, sorry." She managed a sheepish little smile before she picked up her mug again, cupping it with both hands, wiping off the little smear of lip gloss with her thumb. . "Is something wrong?"

"There are no other tables." He said softly and put a plate down. "Sorry. I just know you, so..."

She laughed a little and shook her head. "It's okay. I was just getting a head start on some reading." She folded the corner of one page and closed the book, tucking it into her bag with her notebook. 

"You're okay, right?" He asked as he took a bite of his food, blinking a little and making a slight face before putting it back down.

"Yes." She arched a brow at him. "If you don't like it, why did you order it?"

"I don't know. It's really sweet." He shook his head. "All of a sudden, I felt like eating toast and strawberry jam, like it's my favorite breakfast, but I don't ever remember even eating it before, well, about a week ago."

Aerith laughed. "Oh? That is quite a mystery." She smiled and drank more of her hot chocolate. "I know what you mean, though. Ever since that day we became lab partners, things have just felt weird." She looked around the cafe. "I used to like sitting by the window, but lately I only want to sit in the corner. I feel apprehensive seeing some of my friends..."

Vincent nodded. "I talk more. I think I scared my roommate." He shook his head and ate more of the toast. "And I feel more inclined to go out and see people. A week ago, I would never have come here, and I wouldn't have just sat down here."

"Hm." Aerith looked at him. "I should ask my roommate if she's felt weird lately, too. I mean, she comes home earlier now than I can remember, and she seems more responsible..."

"Strange."

"Not as strange as the face you make when you eat that." She smiled.


	51. At the Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 62 – Kohl

"Why are you making me come with you tonight?" Aerith sighed as she applied the last bit of eyeliner and glanced at Tifa's reflection in the mirror. "You never ask me to these 'research' outings of yours."

"You're moping too much." Tifa straightened her skirt. "And Yuffie and I want you to cheer up a little."

"I'm not moping." Aerith looked at her and sighed. "I told you. Something happened last week, and everything feels different. I'm not even sad that Cloud dumped me, or that I rejected his apology for it." She shook her head. 

Tifa grinned. "And that's what I mean. You're not sad, but you're moping about whatever happened last week to make things change. I felt it too. So why not get over it at the club?"

Aerith groaned a little. "I'm so bad at going to those places. You know this. And I look ridiculous in this dress." She motioned to the short, tight, pink thing that made walking a little more difficult than she would have liked. 

"At least I'm not forcing you to wear heels." Tifa laughed as she finished readying herself. "Come on. You never know, you might find it fun now that things seem different."

Aerith couldn't argue with that, so she nodded and let her friend lead her out of the dorm. They met up with Yuffie before the three of them took a cab to the club. 

The music was too loud. People were too exposed. There was some weird smell in the air. Aerith sighed a little, but let her friends tug her to the bar.

"My friend here needs something to lighten her mood." Tifa laughed a little when she flagged one of the bartenders down. 

Aerith kept her head bowed, only looking up when a glass was placed in front of her. Her eyes widened when she recognized the man behind the counter. "Vincent?"

Vincent blinked, then glanced off to the side.

"Oooooh. Looks like there's not much I need to do here." Tifa laughed and tugged Yuffie out to the dance floor.

"Sorry..." He said and looked back at her. "Don't tell anyone hm?"

Aerith nodded and took the drink from him, looking at it and blinking. "What is this?"

"Cosmo. Don't worry. I didn't make it all that strong. You don't strike me as the drinking type." He smiled at her.

"Not really, no." She took it and drank a little, her nose wrinkling for a moment before she smiled at him. "Thank you."

He laughed, a soft little chuckle, but it was the first time she heard him do it, and so her smile widened. "Still too strong hm?"

"No!" Aerith shook her head. "It's good, thank you." She smiled again and half turned to watch her friends dance.

Vincent nodded and went about his work, occasionally stopping to talk to Aerith. Turns out he was only working here tonight as a favor to a classmate. That he usually worked in a smaller, more niche bar downtown that was barely frequented by any of the college students. 

When he walked away to help someone else, Tifa looped her arm around Aerith and smirked. "Oh? So you've already got the bartender fawning over you?"

"Eh?" Aerith looked at her. "No?"

"You're the only one he talks to." Tifa smirked. "Maybe he likes you?"

"Eh? Why?" Aerith looked at her friend. "We're just in a class together."

"Hm? Is that all?" Tifa smirked. "Then why does he keep looking at you?" She smirked. "And why hasn't he talked to other people? Surely there are more students here."

Aerith shrugged a little. "I think you're reading too much into it."

"Or, you look hot and he likes you." Tifa smirked. "Yuffie agrees."

"Yup! I do!" Yuffie laughed as she came over. "But I think I'm going to head home." She grinned. "Red's probably whining at the door, waiting for me.

Aerith blinked, then nodded. "I'll go with you. I don't want you going alone. Tifa, you should come too."

Tifa laughed a little and grinned more when Vincent came back over. "I can walk Yuffie home. I think you should have your friend here bring you home when he's done working." She winked.

Vincent blinked at the girls, but took the empty glass from in front of Aerith and shook his head. "I'm stuck here all night." He said softly.

Aerith smiled a little. "See? Don't be ridiculous Tifa." She slid off the stool and smiled at Vincent. "Thank you."

He nodded, but blinked when Tifa laughed and leaned up to plant a solid kiss on his cheek. "Make sure you treat our girl right if you plan on wooing her." She whispered before hopping back.

"What did you do that for?" Aerith was frowning a bit. She never liked the way Tifa tended to behave. 

"No reason." Tifa grinned and started walking out of the club.

Aerith glanced back at Vincent as Yuffie tugged her. He was holding his hand to his cheek and looking rather perplexed. She sighed a little and ducked her head as she left.


	52. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 54 – Dash

"Tell me about him." Tifa sat on Aerith's bed and smirked at her friend. 

"Why?" Aerith glanced at her warily from her seat at her desk. 

"Because he's pretty hot." Tifa was still smirking, watching her friend carefully.

"You think so?" Aerith frowned slightly and looked back down at her book. She didn't like it. She didn't like that Tifa was saying these things about Vincent. She didn't like that she kissed him on the cheek last night, either. It made her uncontrollably angry, but she couldn't actually explain why. It wasn't like she liked him, right? That would be ridiculous. She did just end a three-year relationship. She couldn't be that affected by someone she just met last week, could she?

"Oh absolutely." Tifa stood and stretched. "Very hot. Nice face, good arms. I couldn't see it very well, but I'm sure he has a nice butt."

Aerith clenched her pen a little too hard, the plastic cracking under her grip. "Why does that matter?" She tried to sound normal, a little cheerful, but she failed and sounded more annoyed than anything.

"I was thinking of inviting him out." Tifa stood and stretched a little. 

"I see." Aerith closed her eyes and focused her energy, trying to calm herself. "Well, have fun I guess."

Tifa chuckled and headed out the door. "Oh, I will." 

When the door closed behind her, Aerith threw her pen against the back of the desk-shelf. Why was she so mad? Well, whatever. She wasn't going to worry about it. She couldn't. She had more important things to figure out.

Like this pain in her head. It couldn't have been because of the drink last night. Maybe it was because she was so agitated? 

Aerith stood and grabbed her keys. Maybe a walk would make her feel better. She often went to sit by the pond when she wasn't feeling up to anything, so maybe that's what she needed to pick herself up again.

But when she opened the door, she almost walked into Vincent, who was standing there, hand up as if he were about to knock. "Ack!"

"Sorry." He said softly. "I didn't mean to startle you."

She looked up at him, eyes wide. "It's...okay." But she stood there, unsure what to do. Did she let him in? He came here for a reason, right? What if that was because Tifa somehow got his number, or stole it from her phone, or something? What if he was coming here for her?

"Are you busy...? I interrupted something..." He looked at her. 

Aerith shook her head. "I...was just going to go for a walk to clear my head." She blinked. "Why are you here?"

"Your roommate called me. She said she got my number from her phone...that you needed my help with something."

"Eh?" Aerith's eyes widened. "She what? What did she say I needed help with?"

"She wouldn't specify. She just told me to come here. I was worried. Are you all right?"

She groaned and stepped aside to let him in. "Come in..." She was going to kill Tifa: it wasn't that her roommate was interested in Vincent, it was that she wanted to try to hook the two of them up. "I'm going to kill her. She shouldn't have lied and made you rush over here."

Vincent stepped into the room and blinked, looking around. "I don't mind." 

"I'm okay though." Aerith left the door open and watched him. "Vincent...Why are you so nice to me?"

"Hm?" He turned and looked at her. "Why wouldn't I be nice to you?"

"You're not nice to anyone else. You didn't talk to any of the other people at the club last night." She blinked. "But you kept coming over to talk to me."

"Well, you looked uncomfortable, and I was uncomfortable, so I thought if I talked to you, maybe we'd both feel a little better. Was it bad?"

"Eh? No." Aerith managed a little smile. The headache she had earlier was gone, as was the uneasy feeling and the anger she had been wallowing in all morning.

Vincent nodded and looked at her. "Well, as long as everything is okay..." He hesitated. "Are you still going for that walk?"

"Yes. I think so. Would you like to join me?" 

Vincent nodded. "I would be honored." He took her hand and made a show of bowing, kissing the back of it before standing and looking at her.

Aerith's face turned bright red. "Vincent!"

"Oh. Your roommate was right about that, at least."


	53. Whoops!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 13 – Gravity

"Are you trying so desperately to hook me up with Vincent because you have a crush on Cloud?" Aerith looked at her friend from across the table at the dining hall. Tifa's eyes widened and she dropped her fork just before it got to her mouth. 

"What?" 

"I know you heard my question. Gravity isn't strong enough to pull that fork from your hand like that." Aerith kept her eyes on Tifa. 

"No..." Tifa sighed. "I mean, yes and no. No, I'm not trying to get you with him because I have a crush on Cloud, and yes I have a crush on Cloud..." She shifted in her chair.

"So ask Cloud out?" Aerith rested her chin in her hand, elbow on the table. She looked at her friend with one arched brow. "I don't care."

"But..."

"I already told you how I felt about it. Looking back at it now is weird because it just doesn't feel right. I don't think Cloud and I were meant to be together." 

Tifa nodded slowly. "But I want you to know something, Aerith. Your friendship is more important to me. That's why I wasn't going to act on it."

"I know. But then you'd be miserable, and you'd look at him whenever you see him with these sad, puppy eyes." Aerith chuckled a little. 

"What about Vincent? Do you like him?"

Aerith's cheeks pinked slightly. "I don't know. Maybe? I don't know him that well."

"Did he kiss you like I told him to?"

"On the back of my hand."

"Ugh! What an old man!" Tifa laughed. "He totally likes you. When I stole his number and called him, I got that out of him almost right away. I told him to just lay one on you." 

Aerith rolled her eyes. "The poor guy. I'm surprised he even came to see me then if you said such a thing."

"He seems too innocent, for a senior. He probably would have fainted if he actually kissed you." Tifa grinned. "You should try it. See if you can knock him on his butt."

"That's not nice!" Aerith's cheeks turned red and she looked off to the side, only for her eyes to widen when she saw who just entered the dining hall. "Oh my god..."

Tifa looked and started laughing. "Speak of the devil." She grinned and looked back at Aerith. "Should we invite him over?" When Aerith didn't answer, but only reddened more, she stood and waved Vincent over.

He blinked, but walked to their table. "Ladies."

Aerith managed a smile and shifted so he could sit next to her. 

Tifa smirked. "We were just talking about you." When he looked at her with wide eyes, she shook her head. "About how I ambushed you on the phone. Nothing big."

"Oh." He said softly and glanced at Aerith out of the corner of his eye, blinking when she dropped her fork. "Are you okay?"

Aerith nodded a little. "Gravity." She said softly, blushing more.

Tifa grinned. "Should I leave you two lovebirds alone?" She laughed when Vincent dropped his fork this time and they both stared at her.


	54. From One to the Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 79 – Shuffle

Vincent calmly wiped down the bar's surface after sliding two beers to the only two patrons at the bar at this hour. It was past happy-hour, so most of the locals were already on their way home. It would be another slow night, which was something he was always glad for. Especially after filling in at the club last week. If he never had to do that again, he'd be thankful.

He just sat on his stool and pulled out a book when he heard a car pull up. Well, actually it sounded more like a motorcycle and a car, as there were two distinct engine sounds.

He put his book down and looked at the door as it opened, blinking when Aerith's friend—Tifa if he remembered correctly, walked in with some blond guy behind her. He arched a brow at her when he saw that bouncy girl with the short black hair come in behind them, followed by Aerith herself.

She smiled at him, but he could tell she was just as uncomfortable here as she was at the club. He nodded a little and looked at Tifa as she walked to the bar. 

"Hey Vinnie." She grinned.

He winced a little at the nickname. "Tifa." 

"Do you mind if the four of us sit here, or would you prefer we took a table?" 

"My opinion doesn't matter, you're the customer." He looked at her flatly. She grinned at his response and waved her friends over to sit at the bar. The blond sat on one side of her. The petite girl on the other. Aerith sat on the other side of the petite girl. He took their orders and slid over their beers, shaking his head and nudging his stool closer to where Aerith sat.

Tifa and the other girl were involved in some deep discussion that the blond guy occasionally chimed into. Aerith just sat with her elbow on the counter, her chin in her hand as she occasionally drank. 

"Sorry about this." She said after a moment. "Tifa claims 'market research' every time she wants to come out." She looked at Vincent and smiled a little. "If Cloud orders another beer, don't give it to him. He has to leave earliest, and if he crashes his motorcycle, again, his brother might kill him." 

Vincent nodded. 

"You can tell him I said no, if he argues with you. He'll drop it right away."

"You know him well, then?" 

"Childhood friends." She said idly and shook her head. "ex-boyfriend, too."

So that was the guy. Vincent frowned a little at how close the other one leaned towards Tifa, and the way she kept touching his arm. 

"It's okay." Aerith seemed to interrupt his thought and smiled. "I gave her my blessing." She drank a little more. 

They sat there for a bit in silence, watching the others talk. The other two men from earlier said their goodbyes and left, just as they always did this time of night. Cloud did try to order a second, but Vincent told him what Aerith said and he asked for a water instead. Tifa laughed.

Sometime later, an older couple came through the door. Aerith glanced back at them and arched a brow.

"Vin!" The man grinned and Vincent looked away from watching Aerith to nod. 

"Cid. Shera." He got their usual drinks and brought them over. 

"Lookit the young'uns here tonight." Cid laughed and grinned a bit. 

Vincent simply nodded and went back to where he had been sitting by Aerith. They started talking about rather mundane things, but Vincent was so totally enamored by her that he didn't notice that Cid had turned to watch him with wide eyes.

It wasn't until Cloud stood that his attention snapped away from his conversation. 

"Oh thank god. I thought he'd never leave." The other girl—Yuffie, as he caught her name during the conversation earlier—groaned a bit. "Why'd you invite him anyway? Usually it's just the two of us." She pouted. 

"Well..." Tifa coughed. "Isn't it weirder that Aerith came?"

"I only came because you begged me." Aerith rolled her eyes a little and looked at her. 

"You only came because I told you we were coming to the place Vincent works." Tifa countered.

Vincent's eyes widened at that, and he looked at Aerith. Her face turned bright red. He heard Cid howl with laughter on the other side of the bar, and that made his face turn red.

"Look! They match! How cute!" Yuffie laughed. "Maybe we should go elsewhere and leave the two lovebirds here to embarrass each other into a coma."

Cid laughed again and mumbled something about it being about damn time. 

Aerith stood abruptly. "Yuffie..." She shot a look at her friend. One Vincent couldn't read, but he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"Relax. I'm teasing. Besides, I would never be able to sit through one of yer old man's lectures if he found out I left you out again." Yuffie grinned. "How can you handle listening to that guy so much? How many of your classes is he teaching?"

"Yuffie..."

"Oh! Hey, this guy's in your dad's class, too, isn't he?"

"Eh?" Vincent blinked. "Professor Gast is your father?"

Aerith groaned and sat back down, putting her face in her hands.

"No shit?" Cid laughed. "Your girlfriend's father is your professor? Tough shit there, Vin." He yelped a little when Shera elbowed him. "What?"

"Better than having you for a teacher." She quipped and smirked.

Vincent shook his head and leaned over to check on Aerith. "Are you okay?" But he seemed to be leaned a little too close, because when she pulled her hands away from her face to answer him, she jumped. 

Yuffie smirked and kicked Aerith's stool enough to send her forward. Aerith squeaked as her lips touched Vincent's. Both of them turned red again and jumped back. Vincent hit the counter behind him. Aerith went about six feet into the room and almost hit a table.

This time, Tifa joined Cid as he howled with laughter.


	55. Rumor Has It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 84 – 72 hours

"Aerith still won't talk to me." Yuffie pouted and sat in the dining hall with Tifa. "I've called her, and texted her, and she just won't answer."

"What do you expect? She's probably mortified." Tifa shook her head. "She barely talks to me, but I think that's only because I'm her roommate. Whenever I come back, she blushes and says something about studying, and leaves."

"If I knew she was going to be like this, I would have never tripped her into him." Yuffie huffed a little.

"Serves you right." Cloud slid into the seat next to Tifa and grinned. "I told you she was fragile."

"But she was never this shy with you." Yuffie whined.

"Yes, but remember, I've known her since we were kids." Cloud shook his head and took a bite of his sandwich. "I don't think you need to worry though. I just saw her and she seemed okay."

"Where did you see her?" Tifa arched a brow at him.

"The coffee shop. That Vincent guy was with her. Hey, do you think they're dating now?" He blinked.

"She probably would have told me that." Tifa shook her head. "They're lab partners, so that could be it."

"I suppose..." Cloud smirked a little. "I don't think lab partners do what they were doing."

"What were they doing?" Yuffie perked up. 

"Well, he took her hand and kissed it." 

Tifa laughed. "He's still doing that? How lame." She shook her head a bit. "When I tried to trick her into seeing him, I told him to kiss her, but he only kissed her hand."

"Well, she turned red as a tomato, so I don't think it was disliked." Cloud smirked. 

"Maybe that's where she's been running to these last three days, though?" Yuffie blinked. "Maybe she's going on secret dates!"

"Who's going on secret dates?" Aerith was standing at their table, blinking at them.

"Eeep!" Yuffie scrambled back.

"Are you talking about me?" Aerith crossed her arms and frowned at Yuffie. "Haven't you done enough?"

"I knew it!" The smaller girl whined. "You are mad at me!"

"Furious"

Tifa and Cloud grinned, seeing the slight smirk Aerith cracked as Yuffie started begging for forgiveness.

"Before you go spreading rumors..." Aerith shot a look at Cloud. "You should be listening to this one, Strife." She smirked, then looked back at Yuffie. "We have a lab report due tomorrow. We wrote it. That was it. Got it?"

"Yeah...but..." Cloud started.

"No buts. That. Was. It." Aerith looked at him. "Unless you want me to start telling people about a certain guy who climbed into the our window last night?"

Tifa coughed and shook her head. "He won't say anything."


	56. A Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 76 – Game

"You can't be serious?" Aerith looked up from the notes she was scribbling as she skimmed the week's chapter. 

"I am." Vincent watched her reaction with a slightly amused glint in his eyes.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because that's ridiculous." Aerith shook her head and looked back at the text in front of her. "There's absolutely no way I'm letting you come to karaoke and watch me embarrass myself. It's bad enough I have to go in the first place." She paused. "Did Tifa put you up to this?"

"She said you'd be angrier if I just showed up."

"I would. Why would you even want to go anyway?"

Vincent shrugged a little. "You and your friends have been very kind to me these last few weeks. I don't have many friends, and I've never gone to karaoke, so I thought it might be interesting."

Aerith looked at him. "Is that true, or just some story to make me feel bad so I let you go with us?"

"Absolutely true."

She bit her lip a little and sighed. "Ugh. Fine. But I refuse to sing until you do."

"Deal." Vincent actually grinned a little. 

"Ugh. I'm going to regret this. And I'm going to kill Tifa." She sighed and sank back in her chair. 

Vincent chuckled a little and stood. "Then I will pick you up tonight hm?"

"Sure." Aerith pouted at him. 

She didn't expect him to lean down and actually kiss her pout away. In a crowded coffee shop. With people watching. Her face turned bright red and he grinned once more before he walked away.


	57. The Bet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 77 – Coin

"Come on, this is fun!" Tifa leaned closer to Aerith as they sat in the karaoke room, watching Yuffie sing something ridiculously fast and hyper.

Aerith pouted a bit and sat back on the couch, arms crossed. "It would have been fun if you just told me to invite him instead of this weird guilt thing you sent him on."

Tifa laughed. "Sorry. But you would have been pissed with me either way."

"Maybe." She looked up when the door open and the waitress brought in their drinks, Vincent and Cloud entering behind her.

"Sorry. We bumped into each other outside and started talking." Cloud grinned, then gave a thumbs-up to Yuffie as she finished her song.

"Aerith, you're next." 

"No. Tifa can go." Aerith stuck her tongue out a bit, but relaxed somewhat when Vincent sat next to her.

He smiled a little and picked up the menu to look at it. 

"Sorry." She said to him and drank a little of her tea. "Tifa needs to stop being so pushy."

"I told you it might be interesting." He shook his head. "I had a long talk with your friend, too. Well, he did most of the talking."

"Did he threaten you?" 

"Not in so many words." Vincent chuckled a little and put the menu down.

Aerith shot a glare at Cloud, but he just raised his hands defensively and shook his head. 

"Sorry about that, too." She sighed and sank back again. "My friends don't understand minding their own business or personal space."

Vincent shook his head. "Reminds me of Cid, actually."

"Professor Highwind?" Aerith glanced at him. "He was in the bar the other night, wasn't he? You two seemed close."

"He's like my adoptive older brother. Known him my whole life." Vincent looked at her and smiled. 

Aerith smiled a little too ,until Tifa pulled her up and she yelped. "Ack!"

"Your turn!" Tifa shoved the mic into her hand and sat down. 

Aerith pouted a bit, but half turned and sang some not-so-sappy love song. She purposely didn't look at Vincent during it, though she knew he was looking at her. It made her cheeks flare up when she finished, so she handed the mic to Cloud and sat back down, patting her cheeks.

"That was very good." Vincent leaned in and whispered into her ear.

Aerith jumped a little, but turned to face him. She didn't realize he was so close until their lips touched. "Sorry!" She turned red again.

"Yes! I won! Pay up!" Yuffie blinked, then grinned when Aerith looked at her with wide eyes. "I bet he'd kiss you by the end of the night!"

"That wasn't...It..." Aerith turned more red. "Yuffie!"


	58. Double Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 58 – Sword dance

"Why are we here again?" Tifa whispered to Aerith as they sat in a darkened theater.

"Because apparently they like these kind of movies?" She motioned to Vincent, who was on the other side of her, and then to Cloud, who was on the other side of Tifa. 

Tifa nodded and glanced at the screen before rolling her eyes. Neither of them wanted to be here, but Cloud expressed an interest in this sword fighting movie, saying something like 'but swords are so cool!' or something. Vincent said he wanted to see it too.

So here they were, utterly bored while a bunch of men fought with swords on the screen. Occasionally something interesting happened, but it was almost entirely sword fighting.

Boring.

Aerith shifted a little in her seat and tried to look interested, since she didn't want Vincent to worry. He reached out and rested his hand on hers, and her cheeks flared. Tifa chuckled a little and nudged her a bit.

She would never live this one down.

After the movie was over, Aerith glanced at Vincent and arched a brow. "You look bored."

"I always look like this." He murmured as he helped her up. 

The walk out of the theater was almost as boring as the movie, only this time Cloud and Vincent walked ahead, the blond eagerly chatting away. 

Tifa rolled her eyes and looped her arm with Aerith's as they followed the boys. "I don't get it." She muttered.

"Probably the same way they don't get why we like romantic comedies."

"I guess." Tifa let go of Aerith's arm as they got to the parking lot. She waved a little and hopped on Cloud's bike, grinning a little as they zoomed off.

Vincent opened the passenger door for Aerith and waited for her to get in before he went and got in himself. "Sorry, you were bored weren't you?"

"I was okay." Aerith smiled a little. "I'm not good with fighting movies."

"Well, the next one we go to is your choice, hm?" 

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Aerith arched a brow at him,

"Well, we've kissed enough times, so yes?" Vincent blinked at her, then leaned in. "Or would you rather not?"

Aerith's cheeks flared again and she nodded. "I want to."

Vincent kissed her quickly before straightening up and driving. "Good."


	59. Realization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 95 – Warmness on the soul

After dropping Aerith off, Vincent felt a lightness in his chest. How many times had he kissed her tonight? His cheeks were a little warm just at the idea, and he realized just what all of this was.

He hadn't felt like this since he was in high school, when he dated Lucrecia. 

No. That wasn't right. He never felt like this. This felt better than that. This felt amazing. This felt like everything was right and nothing could go wrong. He sat in his car for a while, resting his arms on the steering wheel as he thought about it. He thought he loved Lucrecia. He felt happy around her, but then she cheated on him and left him for an older guy. That didn't hurt nearly as much as it should have, so he couldn't have loved her as much as he thought.

This was different. He was old enough now to separate genuine feeling from fleeting emotion. This wasn't some crush. This was the sun brightening the day, the moon lighting up the night. This was a warm breeze that swirled around him. 

This wasn't a crush. This was something that transcended beyond everything he had ever known. When he thought about it, about her, there were these feelings of familiarity, of a life he didn't know. Of embraces and kisses. Of touches and smiles.

Of love.

Vincent started his car and headed home, that thought swirling through his head. When he got back to the house, he went right to his room. He heard Cid call for him, but he didn't answer. He just sat on his bed and stared down at his hands.

He was in love.


	60. Stargazing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 11 – The endless and faraway sky

"You know, you're kind of too pale to sit outside at night." Aerith murmured to Vincent as they sat on the hood of his car, leaned back on the windshield, watching the night sky. 

"What?" He turned his head to look at her.

"You look like a vampire." She smirked a little, her eyes locking on the stars above. "And your eyes are red, so it makes it worse. Not that you scare me, of course. And if you tried to drink my blood, I'd stake you through the heart." She giggled a little.

Vincent settled back and looked at the sky again. "I suppose I am pale, but I don't tan no matter how much I sit outside."

"That's too bad. You'd probably look good with a bit of color." Aerith smiled and closed her eyes. 

"Or I'd look out of place." He chuckled and glanced at her again, though he quickly turned away when she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Have you ever wondered what it was like up there?"

"The sky? No, not really." 

"I sometimes have dreams about flying on some huge ship. It looks like a boat, but in the sky. I don't remember ever going in something like that, but it feels so real. The wind in my hair, the way the sun bounces off the clouds. Everything goes on forever."

Vincent looked at her. "That sounds interesting."

"I never dream about it happening at night, though. Maybe it's scarier up there when it's so dark. I don't know." She smiled a little and looked at him. "I think it'd be more fun than riding the boats or the trains. Something about flying just always seems so free." She blushed. "Is that weird?"

"I don't think so."

"Maybe it's too bad you're not a vampire. You could fly around if you were." She laughed a little.

"As a bat. I can't imagine that'd be fun."

"True." She sat up and looked at him. "If flying becomes an option, would you go with me?"

He looked up at her and nodded. 

She smiled and leaned down, kissing him quickly before settling back against the windshield. "It's a date, then."


	61. Strange Occurrences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 50 – Vertigo

It was on the way out of Biology when it happened. 

Aerith was holding Vincent's hand as they started out of the room when she felt a sudden wave of vertigo wash over her. She clutched his hand and put the other to her head, stumbling a little. He caught her, concern on his face, but she couldn't reassure him. She couldn't even think straight. 

He took her to the medical center, but they couldn't find anything wrong with her. 

When they left, she leaned on him and kept her head bowed, trying to block the sun out from her eyes. 

It was strange. She never felt that way before. And as Vincent brought her back to the dorm, she tried to relax a little, but she soon found that to be impossible.

He didn't want to leave her alone, but she insisted she would just sleep, so it would be fine, and she would call him later to reassure him. He left, hesitantly, but once he was gone, she leaned against the door and sighed.

With slow steps, she walked towards the bed, but as she did, more of that feeling came. She rested her hand on her desk and closed her eyes, waiting for it to pass. When she thought it was better, she opened her eyes. What she saw wasn't what she expected: her dorm room was no longer a dorm room. It looked like some sort of house. Couches, flowers in vases, all sorts of things she didn't recognize. She quickly closed her eyes again, and when she opened them (slowly, since everything was freaking her out), everything was normal.

"What was that?" She murmured and looked around the room. Everything was in its place. Maybe she really did need a nap. But as she walked towards the bed, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and stared.

The woman staring back at her was standing in that same room she just envisioned. Her hair wasn't bouncing around her shoulders like it usually was, but pulled back into a braid. Her black tee was replaced by a pink dress and a red jacket.

Another headache, and Aerith collapsed into her bed, pulling the pillow over her head. This time, a vision of a bedroom, someone laying next to her. He moved and pulled the pillow from her and leaned down to kiss her. 

It was Vincent.

"Are you feeling all right?" 

She winced and closed her eyes again. The weight she thought she felt next to her was gone. Again, opening her eyes. Everything was normal.

"I'm losing my mind..."


	62. Uncertainty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 32 – Mirror; reflection

Aerith felt bad for teasing Vincent about being a vampire, given that now she couldn't walk in front of a mirror without worrying that she really was losing it. 

It didn't happen often, but it was still unsettling when she looked in the mirror and some alternate version of herself looked back at her. Everything else was the same. If she moved her hand, so did the reflection. It just looked different. It only seemed to happen when she felt those weird shifts in her balance. Those happened less severely, but were growing in frequency. 

Sometimes it came to her in bed. Each and every time it was like the first. Vincent reacting as if he was really there. Sometimes he kissed her head. Sometimes he held her. But every time she closed her eyes again, that feeling was gone, and she always woke up alone.

She debated telling Tifa about it, but Tifa was absolutely euphoric in her new relationship with Cloud, so she didn't want to ruin that. She couldn't tell Cloud about it for the same reason. Yuffie wouldn't understand. Vincent would worry too much. There was also the nagging feeling that her friends would think her insane. She absolutely couldn't tell her parents. They would be even worse. 

So here she was, fidgeting in the chair in Professor Highwind's office—Shera's. Cid would tell Vincent, basically being his older brother and all.

Shera looked at her with concern as Aerith told her what had been happening. It was too surreal, and she didn't expect the woman to believe her. After all, she was an engineer, a scientist, someone who relied on what was real, not what wasn't.

"Have you told anyone else about this?" She asked after digesting Aerith's story. 

"No."

"Good. Don't." She sighed. "It's not that I don't believe you, because I do. You are so very clearly impacted by this that I believe it's happening." She shifted and looked at her. "And...when you brought up that strange feeling you had last month...about everything being different. I felt it too. I didn't tell Cid because he wouldn't understand. He's too logical sometimes." 

Aerith nodded slowly. "I told Vincent about that much. He said he felt weird then, too. But this? This thing with the visions and the other me? I can't even begin to think about telling him. He'll worry too much."

"He will. Does it hurt you when it happens?"

"It happens when I feel off-balance. I thought I had vertigo, but all of the tests came back negative." Aerith sighed a little and looked down at her hands, which rested in her lap. "But it doesn't happen all the time. It's random."

"Have you tried looking in the mirror with others around to see if they look different?"

"No. I'm worried I might see something stranger." 

"Hm." Shera sat back and looked at her. "Well, I'm always here if you need to talk about it."

Aerith nodded and smiled. "Thank you. I feel better just telling you. You were the only one I could talk to about it." She stood, giving her another smile before she left.

It was true she felt better, but at the same time, it was nagging her even more. What if she did see someone else in the mirror? What would happen? Should she try it? Could she even do it without letting anyone else know? Probably not.


	63. Misunderstanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 49 – Flash

Vincent sat across from Aerith and watched her. To anyone else, her behavior was normal, but he caught the subtle changes. The way she occasionally glanced at the window with hesitation, as if she would see someone or something terrifying. The way she would avoid ordering food that would need a plate. The way she wouldn't look at her spoon when she stirred her hot chocolate or her coffee. 

It worried him, to say the least, but it was something he didn't know how to bring up.

So he watched her instead, wondering if she would notice, or if she would say anything that made it all make sense. She didn't. It had been almost a month since she almost fainted from vertigo, and she had been acting this way ever since. 

Cid told him that he saw her head into Shera's office last week, but Shera was dismissive when he asked about it. She said something about science classes and bioengineering. Nothing out of the ordinary for a woman who was majoring in biological science, right?

Except Aerith's interest lied in botony and horticulture, not bioengineering.

He shifted and rested his chin on his hand, fingers tapping his cheek lightly. She glanced up at him and smiled a little. but it wasn't the bright smile she used to give him.

"Are you going to break up with me?" He asked, causing her eyes to widen. 

"W..What? No! Where did you get that idea?" Tears came to her eyes, but she blinked them away. "Why would you ask that?"

"You're acting weird." 

She shifted and looked down, clearly uncomfortable. "Oh, really?"

"Aerith...You don't even smile at me the way you used to. Am I boring you?"

"No. I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now. We have an exam coming up, and I have a huge research paper due in my composition class..." She glanced off to the side, and Vincent noticed that she was once again very careful not to look at the window.

"Is that it?" He sat back and shook his head. "Seems like you stopped liking me."

"No!" She reached out and grabbed his hand, and she froze. Her eyes widened and she quickly leapt up from her seat. "Sorry!" She managed before she grabbed her bag and ran out.

Others looked at him and he groaned. He grabbed his things and stood, walking out after her. 

She hadn't gotten far. She was standing at the edge of the curb, muttering a little to herself. 

"Aerith." 

She whirled around, her eyes wide. She didn't move as he stepped closer. 

"Tell me what's wrong."

She shook her head. "I...I can't." She shifted a little.

"You don't want to." He corrected, and she bowed her head. "At least let me walk you back to your dorm." She nodded.

They walked in silence. Vincent watched Aerith as she just seemed to find the ground so interesting. When they got to the building, she hesitated before looking up at him.

"You...want to come in?"

"Is that okay?" He arched a brow at her and she nodded, so he followed her in.

It looked like Tifa was out. Aerith put her things at her desk and sat on her bed, her hands resting in her lap and fiddling with the bottom of her shirt as she stared at them. She sat there for several minutes before her fists clenched and she looked at him. "I'm seeing things."

"What?" He crouched in front of her and rested his hand on her knee, looking at her with concern.

"I don't know how to explain it, but..." She shook her head. "I get that unbalanced feeling, and I see things. Different things. Almost like a dream."

"Have you talked to anyone about this...?"

"Only Shera. It only comes in flashes." She sighed. "I'm sorry for hiding it. I didn't want you to worry, but then I made you think I didn't like you..." She bowed her head.

Vincent sighed and kissed the top of her head. "It's ok... We'll figure something out."


	64. Sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 61 – Over-sized shirt

Aerith sat curled up on the couch in the Highwind's living room. She leaned against Vincent's side and watched whatever movie he put in. She hadn't really been paying attention. Instead, she was focusing on the man at her side. The one who called her and asked her if she wanted to come over and just relax. So she didn't have to think about all of the things that had been happening lately.

Cid and Shera were out, which made it a little easier. Vincent didn't talk about it. He just held her against his side, his arm looped around her shoulder as she sank into him.

Not too long into the movie, she fell asleep against him. She didn't dream of anything weird. She didn't have any strange visions. Everything seemed okay. Well, that was until she woke.

Vincent pressed his lips to her temple, and she opened her eyes to look at him. He looked a little concerned, but he seemed to relax when she looked at him. 

"I fell asleep? Sorry."

"You wouldn't respond..." Vincent sighed and sank back. "I was worried something happened."

"No. For once something didn't happen." She smiled a little and settled back in. "Sorry for falling asleep though."

"It's okay. You probably need it." He looked at her before shaking his head. "Why don't you spend the night?"

She blinked and looked at him, her cheeks pinking a bit. "Eh? Is that..." She ducked her head. "I mean..."

"You must be tired." He shook his head and helped her up. "You can sleep in one of my shirts. Don't worry. I'll sleep on the couch if you want me to."

"No...It's ok." Aerith blushed more as she followed him to his room, taking the shirt he offered her and watching him leave so she could change.

She poked her head out when she was done, her face pretty red. "Vincent?" 

He pushed off the wall and looked at her. If he reacted in any way to seeing her in his shirt, which just barely covered her thighs, he did a really good job of hiding it. Well, except for the slight reddening of his ears. "I should sleep on the couch."

"Don't leave me alone..." Aerith shook her head. "Please."

Vincent nodded and walked into the room.


	65. Dreaming?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 52 – Lingerie; undergarments

He didn't know when it happened, but sometime during the night, Aerith had managed to slide out of the shirt she borrowed, and she was now curled up against him in just her undergarments.

He stared up at the ceiling, trying not to look at her in case she got mad about it, but occasionally he stole a glance; he couldn't help it.

Of course, she was beautiful, but he thought that before she wormed out of the shirt. He was thinking more when she pressed up against him and murmured something that sounded similar to his name. 

With a sigh, he wrapped his arms around her and tried to fall back asleep. 

"Vincent?" 

He opened his eyes and lifted a hand to rub them a bit. Hm?

"Why are you in your underwear?" Aerith was half sitting up, her eyes wide. "Why am I in my underwear?"

Wait, when did that happen? He looked down and his eyes widened. Sometime after he fell asleep again he managed to take off his clothes too? What was this? "I don't know."

Aerith nodded a little, looking at him somewhat skeptically, but there was a blush on her cheeks, and she seemed unable to look away. "Did we..."

"I don't think so? Wouldn't we have woken up for that?"

She blushed more and nodded. "Okay. Then that was a dream."

"You dreamt about it?" Now it was Vincent's turn to go red. "Aerith..."

"But it wasn't me! It was one of those vision things! I swear!" She fell back and pulled the pillow over her head. "You kissed me a lot, and you had longer hair..." She said, her voice muffled "And a ring on your finger..."

"Eh?" He looked down and blinked, since he didn't wear rings. He glanced at the pillow and lifted it. "Aerith, maybe you should go back to the doctor?"

"And what good is that going to do?" Aerith shook her head.

"Not at the medical center. We can go see Dr. Tuesti. Maybe he can help?"

"The mind-guy? I don't think that's a good idea either..." She sighed and looked at him. "I'm fine. Really."

"Okay..."


	66. Invitation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 55 – Impulse

She wasn't fine.

It had been months since the first vision. The semester ended, and Aerith was back home for the summer with her parents. The day flashes were gone. It had been weeks since she looked in the mirror and saw someone else. She didn't feel vertigo anymore. That was great.

It was sleeping that was the problem.

Every night when she slept, the visions came on full force. Every night she lived some different life, and she didn't know how to deal with it when she woke up. Normally the dreams were just her, but if she saw or spoke to any of her friends that day, they were in her dreams that night. 

It's not that they were bad dreams: hanging out in a bar with Tifa, watching Cloud work, seeing Yuffie plan parties, those kinds of things. It was just that the people in her dreams were and weren't the people she knew. Tifa was a bit more violent. Cloud was much more passive. Yuffie was always excitable. It was too much sometimes. 

The hardest ones to get through were the ones with Vincent. Those usually left her waking up embarrassed and blushing. Sometimes they were sweet, and sometimes they were downright dirty, and she didn't know where that kind of thing came from.

"Aerith, honey, you have a visitor." She snapped out of her thoughts when her mom's voice carried up the stairs. 

"Coming." She pulled her hair back into a pony tail and checked her shirt and shorts to make sure she looked at least somewhat decent. Usually she lounged around in her pjs all day, unless she had somewhere to be.

She blinked when she heard the low voice speaking with her mother and she winced a little. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Vincent, but if she knew he was coming, she could have looked better. Shaking the wince away, she rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and smiled. "Vincent, hi."

"Hello. Sorry for just coming by..." He glanced at her and arched a brow. "Were you sleeping?"

Aerith's cheeks pinked and she shook her head. "Just lazy..." She smiled sheepishly. "So..." She glanced at her mother, who was still standing there, all smiles. 

"Cid and Shera are going to head to Costa Del Sol for the week, and they wanted me to invite you." He glanced at Aerith's mother. "If that's okay with your mother, of course."

"You'll have to ask her father, to be honest. I'm always okay with things." 

Aerith rolled her eyes. "Dad's in his lab right now. Bothering him would be a bad idea."

"True. All right. Just go, and I'll deal with him when he gets home."

Vincent smiled a little. "We'll pick you up tomorrow?"

"You could have just called and asked..." Aerith shook her head a little. "You didn't have to come all the way here."

"I know, but I wanted to." Vincent smiled a little, and Aerith blushed at the gasp that came from her mother. 

"Well, at least stay a while then" Her mother bounced into the kitchen. "I'll get some snacks!"

"Ah, no. I'm sorry. I have some things to do." Vincent looked a bit embarrassed. "I just stopped by..."

Aerith smiled and gently pushed him towards the door. "She won't accept that, so if you have anywhere to be in the next six hours, you better go now." She leaned up and kissed him quickly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded.


	67. Vision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 71 – Divine image

Aerith sat in the back of the truck with Vincent, her arm resting on the side as the wind blew through her hair. She watched the way the landscape changed as they left the city and headed out into the fields. She had never been to Costa Del Sol before, but for some reason, this ride felt awfully familiar. She didn't have the vertigo or the headaches, so she wasn't seeing anything, but a strange sense of déjà vu washed over her.

"Aerith?" Vincent looked at her. She chuckled a little, since he looked somewhat ridiculous with his hair pulled back in a ponytail like that. 

"I'm fine." She smiled a little at him and looked back out at the scenery. This just feels familiar, that's all.

He nodded and looked around. They rode in silence for a while, but as they neared Junon, he spoke again. "Aerith...are you sure you're okay?"

Aerith was leaning back against the cab now, her head turned to the side as she stared out into the fields, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm fine." She lifted a hand to wipe at her cheeks. "I don't know what happened. Maybe I got some dirt in my eye..." She shook her head and looked at him. "Really..."

But Vincent didn't seem convinced. "Okay..." He leaned over and kissed her forehead as if that would let her know he wouldn't push it.

Aerith knew he didn't believe her, but she smiled anyway. She didn't want him to know what she had just seen, weird as it was. Some figure. A wolf, or a beast, or something. Looking at her, though clearly it wasn't there. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, doing whatever she could to push the image as far from her mind as possible.

Maybe, for once, it would work.


	68. Summertime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 70 – Castles in the sand

"You've never built a sand castle before?" Aerith looked at Vincent incredulously as she sat on the beach and patted the sand into a pile. "Ever?"

"No." Vincent was sitting next to her, looking at the mound of sand with a rather perplexed expression. "Is that weird?"

"OF course it's weird. You've been to the beach before haven't you?" 

"Well, yes..." He shrugged a little. "But I never did this." He looked at her.

Aerith shook her head slightly and smiled. "That's a shame."

"So are we building one?"

"No. We're too old for that." She smiled and patted the sand before hopping up. "What do you think we are, kids?" She laughed and started for the water.

He rolled his eyes and chased after her, causing her to squeak when he caught her and spun her around. He kissed her and pulled her more into the water.

Cid rolled his eyes from his beach-chair. "Kids."


	69. Too Hot!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 86 – Heat wave

"Ugh. How can you wear that?" Aerith fanned herself and looked at Vincent as he sat there in long pants and a button down shirt. "Isn't it too hot for that?"

"I'm fine." 

"How?" She shifted and lifted her iced tea to her forehead, some of the condensation dripping into her hair. "It feels like the sun is going to melt us."

"I don't know. I've never been bothered by the heat or the cold."

"Never?" Aerith arched a brow. "So you've never felt hot?"

Vincent shrugged, but blinked at her when she pouted. "What?"

"That's sad." She put the glass down on the table and leaned forward a bit. "So you've never felt warm and uncomfortable?"

"Not that I can recall, no." 

Aerith pulled one of the ice cubes from her glass and arched a brow at him. She slowly ran it along her own next, watching his face to see if there were any reactions. There weren't. Not until she leaned back a little and started sliding it down her collarbone. "Never?"

Vincent shifted and grimaced a little. "What...are you doing?"

"Trying to make you warm and uncomfortable." The cube melted just as she brought it down to the curve of her chest. "Is it working?"

"I..." He stammered. 

"I guess it is." She smirked and stood, walking around to his side of the table and cupping his cheeks in her hands. "Now it's going to get worse." She kissed him. A long, hot, needy kind of kiss before she grabbed her glass of iced tea and went into the villa.

He sat there for a moment before he scrambled to his feet to follow her.


	70. Midnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 99 – Clock

It was well after midnight when Vincent woke up. Normally he slept through the night without a problem, but not tonight. He moved, careful not to disturb Aerith as she slept curled at his side, looking peaceful and content. He smiled a little, leaning over to kiss the top of her head before he slid out of bed and looked at the clock.

It was flashing 12:00. That was odd. He could have sworn that it said 2:27 when he first woke.

With a shrug, he went into the bathroom to wash his face, wondering if he could clear whatever haze had woken him up.

Running a hand over his face, he sighed softly and glanced up at the mirror, blinking at what he saw there. It was definitely his reflection, but at the same time it wasn't. His brows furrowed, and he thought back to when Aerith told him she avoided mirrors. Was this why? The Vincent that looked back at him looked tired, not from lack of sleep, but from years of suffering. His hair was longer, and his eyes were duller. 

Shaking it off, he walked back to the bed. The clock was still flashing 12:00. He kept his eyes on it as he sank against the mattress and pulled the thin sheet up. 12:00

12:00

2:32.

He didn't even have time to process that change; he fell instantly asleep.


	71. Awkward Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 60 – Chains; bonds

Neither of them talked about the night before, though both of them seemed a little uncomfortable with each other in the morning.

Aerith sat at the table and drank her juice, watching Vincent with concern. He was watching her the same way as he drank is coffee.

Cid watched the two of them before he broke the silence with a rough cough. "You know, if you keep looking at each other like that, Shera and I are likely to think something's wrong." 

"Nothing's wrong." Vincent shook his head. "I just had a weird dream last night."

"Huh. That ain't like you." The older man arched a brow. "You sure nothing's wrong?" 

Vincent nodded and glanced at Aerith. She looked right back at him before she shook her head a little and stood. "I'm going to go for a walk." She stretched her arms above her head before she left the room.

Vincent scrambled up and followed her, leaving Cid alone at the table, chuckling to himself.

"You don't have to follow me." Aerith looked over at him once she stepped out of the villa. "I'm not going far."

"I need to talk to you." He said and took her hand, shaking his head at the worry that crossed her face. "I had one of those dreams last night. Kind of like the ones you told me about."

"I see." Aerith sighed. "That explains it." 

"Explains what?"

"Why I didn't have one." She shook her head. "Maybe it's passing to you because..." Her cheeks pinked and she looked off to the side.

"I doubt that's the reason." Vincent coughed a little. "But we are more connected now, so..."

Aerith shook her head and reached out to cover his mouth with her hand. "Shhhh. There are too many people around!" She squeaked when he licked her palm, so she pulled her hand back. "Vincent!"

"What?" He leaned in. "Are you embarrassed?"

"Aren't you?" She stared at him. "That's not something other people should know!"

"I don't mind." He smirked and kissed her before he stepped back. "Oh well." He winked before he held his hand out to her again. "Come with me. I think we should go somewhere we can talk, hm?"

Aerith nodded, her cheeks red, and she took his hand.


	72. Not the Same

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 97 – Explore

Vincent helped Aerith up the rocks, holding both of her hands as he pulled her up the last one, trying to keep her as steady as possible. "Just a little further" he said before he helped her across and down the rocks to a secluded little section of the beach. It couldn't be seen from the resorts, and tourists weren't prone to come this far out.

"Wow." Aerith murmured as she looked out at the water. "This is so nice."

"It is. And no one will bother us here, so we can talk." He let go of her hands and sat on the sand, looking at her.

She moved and sat across from him blinking. "So..."

"When I woke up, I was me without being me." Vincent shook his head. "It was after 2, but then the clock flashed 12 like it lost power." He frowned and continued. "I went to the bathroom, and when I looked in the mirror, I looked the same but different. The clock was still 12, and then it was after 2 again and I fell back asleep." 

Aerith listened and nodded a little. "And last night was the first night I didn't have one of those dreams...What do you think it is?"

"I don't know, but I'm not sure it's something even Reeve will understand." He sighed. "Though it still wouldn't hurt to talk to him."

She nodded slowly and leaned back a bit, looking up at the sky. "If you think it's a good idea." 

"I don't know." Vincent watched her. "But it's weird isn't it?"

"Yeah." She closed her eyes. 

He watched her for a moment before he moved closer to her. "Aerith..."

"Eh?" She opened her eyes and almost fell back because of how close he was. "What...is it?"

"Nothing." He said, not moving back.

"Then why are you so close?"

"Why not?" He leaned in a bit more. "Is it bad?"

"What's gotten into you?" She tried to sit up a little, but when she stopped leaning on her arms, she fell back into the sand and he closed the distance. Her eyes widened when she felt his lips on her neck and she gripped his hair lightly. "Vincent!"

"Eh?" He sat up and blinked. "What...just happened?"

"You don't even know? You're the worst!" Aerith pushed him off and stood, walking towards what looked like a small path in the rocks.

"Hey!" He scrambled up to follow her. "Why are you mad?"

"Ugh. You're the worst."

Vincent sighed and followed her


	73. Payback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 26 – Windy nights

Aerith had been ignoring Vincent since that little moment on the beach. Cid seemed mildly concerned, but that was probably because Vincent looked like a kicked puppy. Shera just shook her head and continued about her business.

Sometime after the sun went down, Aerith stepped outside and watched the stars. It was a bit windy, so she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and sat on one of the benches on the porch. She tried not to be mad at Vincent for what happened. Something had been different with him, after all, but she couldn't help it. Who wouldn't get mad if someone did that and didn't remember?

She sighed and pushed some of her hair out of her face as the wind blew it around. When Vincent came out and sat next to her, she ignored him, pretending not to notice the way he slumped when she didn't even acknowledge his presence.

"I'm sorry." He said after a while.

"You aren't. You don't even know what to be sorry for." Aerith shook her head and wouldn't look at him. 

"But you're mad at me, so I'm sorry for whatever it was." He sighed and looked down at his hands.

Aerith glanced at him before she frowned a little. It was almost ridiculous how pathetic he was acting. She pushed her hair out of her face again and stood. 

Vincent looked up at her when she moved, but he sighed and looked back down again. She figured he would do that, since he probably thought she was going to leave him.

So she let the blanket fall from her shoulders and she straddled his lap. She grabbed his cheeks and lifted his face enough to kiss him rather possessively, ignoring his wide-eyed expression. He lifted his hands to her shoulders, but she stiffened and pulled back, looking at him with the same expression he gave her this afternoon before she picked up the blanket and ran into the villa.


	74. Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 44 – You’re as good…

Vincent chased after her. When he caught her, she tried to jerk her arm away. "Aerith, wait!" 

Aerith slumped a little when Vincent wouldn't let go. She bowed her head and stood there awkwardly.

"Please...don't run from me. What was that?" He moved and wrapped his arms around her, holding her up and sighing. 

"That's what you did to me on the beach...kind of..." She muttered, shaking her head. "That's what you forgot."

"What?" Vincent sighed a little and turned her to look at him. "I don't remember doing that, but if that's why you're mad at me, then I am sorry. Something must have happened to me like it did last night..."

Aerith looked at him and arched a brow. "Isn't that too convenient? You act like a brute and then blame it on a blackout?" 

"But it's true." Vincent sighed. "I'm overly cautious, you know this by now. I've never gotten like that..." 

Aerith seemed to be studying his face before she nodded and pulled out of his arms. "This is my fault. We should have never..." She shook her head. "It wouldn't be affecting you like this if we hadn't." She opened the door to the bedroom and walked inside, sighing.

Vincent hesitated before following her inside and closing the door. "Please don't regret it."

"I don't regret it. I am just concerned about what it's doing to you. Even I haven't had that happen to me."

"Then maybe what's happening to me is different than what's happening to you?" Vincent sat on the bed and looked at her. 

"Maybe..." Aerith sighed and looked at him sadly. "Either way, it was never my intention to drag you into this." 

He reached out and took her hand, pulling her a little closer as he lifted it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "I'd rather you drag me into it rather than suffer alone."

Aerith smiled a little and moved, hugging him a bit awkwardly since he was sitting and she was still standing. "Thank you..."


	75. Heading Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 19 – Shining

"Are you done fighting?" Cid asked over his coffee in the morning. "Cause if not, we're going to have a crappy ride back."

"We weren't really fighting." Aerith smiled a little and drank her tea. 

"If you say so, kid." 

Vincent shook his head a little. "It's fine. You don't need to worry." He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged.

Cid looked at him before he whistled and stood. "I'll go get the truck ready." He winked and left the room.

Aerith glanced over at Vincent and smiled a little. "Do you think he has any idea?" 

"Probably. He's the smartest man I know." Vincent shrugged again and stood. "I'll go get our things." He looked at her for a moment longer, but soon he was out of the room as well.

Aerith turned her head and looked out the window, smiling a little at the way the sun peeked through the clouds and brightened the area. Everything was so bright and cheerful by the time she made it out to the truck, taking Vincent's hand as he helped her into the back. "Thank you." 

He nodded, making a bit of a show of kissing her hand before he sat next to her and looped an arm around her shoulder.


	76. Discomfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 90 – Vin rouge

Aerith sat at the bar, her finger slowly moving circles around the bottom of her glass as she listened to Tifa and Yuffie talk excitedly about something or other. She had been home a week, and it was the first time the three of them were able to meet up since the semester ended.

But she was sulking, not because she didn't want to be there, but because the weird things have been happening quite frequently since she returned from Costa Del Sol. Yesterday, for example, she fell asleep on the couch, but woke up in the garden.

"Aerith?" Tifa's hand came down on her shoulder.

"Sorry, what?" Aerith looked at her friends. 

"Are you okay? You totally spaced out." Yuffie blinked. "Is your brain still on vacation?"

"Yes...that's it." Aerith managed a sheepish smile and swatted Yuffie's elbow away as the girl nudged her and asked for details.

The conversation resumed, and this time she tried a bit harder to focus, drinking her wine and arching a brow when Yuffie started talking about some guy she liked.

She gently wiped the lip-gloss smudge off her glass when she finished, shaking her head when the bartender asked if she wanted a second.

"You know..." Tifa was staring at her. "Something's different about you."

Aerith blinked. "What? I'm not any quieter than usual..."

"No. Not that." She leaned forward. "You totally did it with Vincent didn't you?"

"WHAT?" Yuffie almost fell off her stool. 

Aerith's face turned bright red and she turned her head away. "What the hell, Tifa!?"

"Ha! I knew it!" Tifa grinned. "Spill!"

"No!" Aerith stood. "I'm going home." She pouted. 

"Oh come on." Tifa looked at her. "Since when have you been so shy?"

"Since you started prying into my sex life." Aerith's cheeks were still red.

"Well, is he a good kisser at least?" Yuffie grinned.

"Why? So you can try to kiss him?" Aerith pouted again and grabbed her purse. "I'm tired...I'll talk to you later." She quickly left before either could bother her any more.


	77. Unreal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 88 – Virtual reality

"So now what?" Vincent sat on the couch next to Aerith and looked across at Reeve. 

The man watched the two of them and frowned a bit. "To be honest, I've never heard of anything like that." He sat back in his chair and rubbed his forehead. "Sounds like some bad blend between reality and virtual reality..."

Vincent nodded and took Aerith's hand. 

"Have you considered hypnosis?" Reeve asked after a moment. "It might shed some light."

"No..." Aerith shook her head. "I don't want to..." She fidgeted a little and looked down at her lap. Vincent squeezed her hand a bit, but she didn't lift her head.

"All right. Well, if you change your mind, and you want to try to find out why you're both living two lives.."

Aerith sighed and Vincent leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "It'll be okay."

"I hope so."


	78. Growing Concern

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 72 – Pebbles

Aerith idly kicked at some pebbles as they left Reeve's office. Her head was bowed, and she kept her eyes on the ground. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but she thought she might at least feel a little better telling someone. Instead, her stomach was in knots. 

Vincent tried to comfort her, but right now she didn't even really want to talk to him, so she just let him walk beside her, and she held his hand when he took hers, but otherwise she focused on the pebbles as she kicked them along.

She knew he was concerned for her. She could practically feel his gaze, but she didn't look at him, and it wasn't until they were at her house that she spoke. "I'll be okay." She said, completely unconvincingly. She let go of his hand and lifted her gaze enough to see him without really looking at him. "I'll call you later." She pressed a kiss to his cheek and disappeared into her house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short fic is short.


	79. Moving Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 37 – Butterfly

Vincent tried not to worry. He really did. Aerith did say she'd call him, but it had been three days since then. He wasn't sure if he should call her, or go check on her or what. Would she get angry of he did? Did she need space? Was she mad at him for suggesting that meeting?

He paced around the room, sighing every so often. He shouldn't have pushed it. He shouldn't have even suggested it.

"Vincent, your girlfriend is here." Shera's voice echoed up the stairs.

He all but flew out of his room and down the stairs, almost falling over himself when he got to the bottom.

Aerith looked at him from where she was standing by the door, her brows furrowed a little. "Was...this a bad idea? Should I come another time?"

"No!" He said almost too enthusiastically. "No..." He calmed himself and walked to her. "Are you okay?"

Aerith nodded and looked up at him. "I tried to call you, but my father, in his absentmindedness...forgot to pay my cell phone bill, so it was off. He's been in the lab, so getting a hold of him is tough. It's still not paid, so..." She shook her head. "I should have come sooner, but...I didn't know where you lived."

Vincent blinked. "Oh." He laughed a little and ran his hand through his hair. All that worrying for nothing? "Sorry."

"Cloud had to do some digging for me." She said and looked around before looking at him again. "Come outside with me?"

He nodded and followed her out, blinking a little. "So...?"

"I've been doing some thinking..."

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"What? No." Aerith shook her head and crouched by some flowers, holding her finger out to the little butterfly that rested on the petals. "If I was going to break up with you, I wouldn't bother finding you."

He looked at her. He supposed that made sense. So he nodded a bit and moved to stand next to her. He watched her stand, butterfly still on her finger. "Then...what is it?"

"I'm not going to do hypnosis. I think that's too dangerous..." She said softly, letting the butterfly fly away. "I have an idea though..."

"What?"

"I want to go somewhere. You need to come with me, but no one else..."

"Where?"

"I can't tell you that. You just have to trust me." She stepped up to him and rested her hands on his chest. "Can you do that?" 

"Yes, of course, but..."

She lifted on her toes and kissed him, silencing his protests. "Come to my house tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded.


	80. A Journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 18 – Walking on air

"Do you even know how to drive this thing?" Vincent looked mildly concerned as Aerith tossed a bag and a cooler into the back of the boat she rented. 

"Nope. But how hard can it be?" Aerith smiled innocently as she hopped in and waited for him. 

Vincent hesitated, but got into the boat and watched her start it up, gripping one of the bars on the side as it lurched forward. The last place he wanted to die was in the water.

But Aerith somehow managed to control it as if it was no big deal.

"Do we even have enough gas?" He blinked.

Aerith shrugged. "There shouldn't be a problem. It's a pretty long distance, but the guy said there was more than enough fuel."

Vincent looked skeptical, but he shrugged it off. Once they got into more open water, Aerith set up some sort of cruise control and sat back, glancing at him. 

"What?"

"Thank you for coming with me. I wasn't sure I could do this alone."

"Well, that's fine, but where are we going?"

Aerith shrugged. "I don't know. I just know I have to go here."

Vincent looked even more concerned, but he didn't want to push it, so he sat in silence as they traveled.

It was a while before the shore came into sight, but once it did, Aerith seemed even more determined to get there. So Vincent just watched her as she focused. For a moment, he thought he saw her eyes flash, but he shook his head. There was no way that was possible.

Once they hit the shore, she secured the boat and grabbed her bag, handing the cooler to Vincent before she started walking. 

"Aerith?"

She didn't say anything. The closer they seemed to be getting to whatever it was they were going to, the lighter she seemed to be moving, until Vincent was absolutely sure her feet weren't touching the ground.

And then he saw it: the giant bone structures. She couldn't have meant to go in there, could she?

"Are you coming, or do you want to stay here?" Aerith glanced at him, seemingly unaware that her feet weren't touching the ground.

Vincent moved and grabbed her hand, pulling her into his chest and holding her against it. "I don't think we should go in there."

Aerith laughed a little and kissed his cheek before she pushed back. Her feet hit the ground and she smiled. "I didn't know you were superstitious..."

"I'm not...it's just..." But she was already heading into that place, so he scrambled to follow.


	81. Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 27 – Silver

"Here." Aerith stopped after walking what could have felt like hours. She was standing at the edge of a lake, among the crystalline trees, which shined silver in the light. 

Vincent's eyes widened. He read about this place in books, but he never thought it existed. "Aerith?" 

She shook her head and put her things down, walking to the edge of the water and crouching, leaning over enough to see her own reflection. "I had a dream the other night..." She reached down and touched the water. "There was a boy. He must have been about sixteen or seventeen. He was looking at me, and he looked a lot like you. His face was like yours, but his eyes were the brightest blue I've ever seen." She shook her head. "He told me to come here."

Vincent crouched next to her, resting his hand on her back. "Aerith..."

"At first I didn't believe it. I mean that's even weirder than what's been happening." She watched the water. "But then the boy came in another dream, and he looked tired. And he said something that really made me want to at least see.."

"What?"

"He said 'Mom.'" She looked over her shoulder at him. "Me. Mom. Isn't that strange? I'm barely 20. I sneak into clubs and bars with a fake ID. How could I have a child, let alone one 4 years younger than me? And then I realized it might have to do with that other life."

Vincent's brows furrowed. "Aerith...That's..."

"So I thought about it. I thought about my life now, and my memories. And I have them, as I know you do. But I don't remember them. I mean. I know I went to school with Tifa and Cloud. I know I dated Zack before he left. I know I dated Cloud after. I know Tifa and I went to Wutai for graduation and met Yuffie there." She sighed. "But I don't remember it. I looked in my photo albums and there are all these pictures, but I don't remember. I can't tell you how I felt when I first learned how to ride a bike, or when I got my ribbons for flower arrangement. I don't even remember learning that. But there they all. Pictures of a life I can't remember."

Vincent nodded a little. "I...think I understand that."

She nodded and looked back at the water. "But I remember feelings in those dreams." She reached her hand into the water again. "So when he said 'Please Mom. Please go there. Take Dad with you.' I knew he meant you. I felt it." She looked at his face through the rippled reflection in the lake. 

"So what do we do?" Vincent tried not to look shocked at the dad thing, but he failed at that.

"Spend the night." Aerith shook her head. "See if the dreams change." 

"So that's why you brought all that stuff?"

She nodded and leaned down, cupping some of the water in her hand and bringing it to her lips. "I want to fix this." She said and looked at him.

He nodded. "All right. Let's try it."


	82. A Little Bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 22 – Nightingale

Vincent had never been camping, and now he knew why.

There were birds here that sang all night. It didn't seem to bother Aerith, as she slept right through it, but it absolutely bothered him. Singing, and chirping, and hopping from branch to branch. He groaned a little and tried to curl up more in his sleeping bag, but he couldn't muffle it out.

"That's not very nice." He heard a voice and he poked his head out from the cover, blinking at the little bird that sat on his chest and peered at him. Did it just talk?

"Yes. I just talked."

Vincent stared, and the bird stared back. 

"This is a dream, Dad. Isn't it funny? Now you can say a little birdy told you." The bird seemed to laugh, but it was just more chirping.

"I don't understand..." Vincent groaned a little and went to hide his face again. This was too much.

"Fine. I'll tell Mom then." The bird flew off. 

When Vincent woke, the sun was just peeking through the trees. Aerith was already up and sitting at the edge of the lake, looking down at the water. "A little birdy told me you were mean last night." She said.

Vincent snorted. So that was what was supposed to be funny? "A dream." He said.

"Yes. I know." She looked over her shoulder at him. "And I understand all of this now."


	83. Connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 17 – Falling leaves

"You understand it?" Vincent blinked at Aerith. Did she mean that? Was it really possible that everything would make sense after one night?

She nodded and stood, walking to one of the trees and resting her hand against it, looking up at the leaves and blinking as several floated down around her. "You used to sit here." She said softly, looking over her shoulder at him. "After I died. You used to sit at the edge of this lake and blame yourself."

"What? That's pretty ridiculous." Vincent shook his head. "How could you have died if you're here?"

"I came back." She said simply. "There was a crisis that took you away, and then another. And I was lonely, so I came back." When she looked at him, her eyes seemed to shine. A few more leaves fell around her as she walked back to the edge of the water and sat down. "And another crisis did this to us. Someone tried to put something in motion, and only the children were unaffected..." She sighed and leaned forward, running her fingers through the water, one of the leaves settling on the surface and floating with the ripples.

"Aerith, you're not making any sense."

"I know." She looked at him and managed a smile. "We just have to wait now. The children are trying to figure it out." 

Vincent crouched next to her and rested his hand on her cheek. "Aerith...We're not old enough to have children."

"We don't age, you know." She shook her head and looked up at him. "Vincent..." She reached up and touched his lips. "If you never do anything for me again, at least promise me that you'll believe me..."

His brows furrowed and he reached up to pluck a leaf out of her hair. "All right... I promise."


	84. Unsettling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 31 – Bubbles

Aerith was silent most of the way back to the boat, occasionally commenting on how everything looks different, or how nothing had changed. The ride across the water wasn't much different.

Vincent tried not to be as concerned as he was earlier, since he had promised her he would believe her, but it was difficult. 

When they returned the boat, she turned to him and smiled, looking much more like the girl he met a few months ago. Her eyes shone as she looked at him, and he could tell her smile was genuine. It was definitely nice, but it was a little off-putting. He wasn't sure if it was because of what had been happening, or what happened. 

It was well after sundown by the time they made it back to the city. Vincent brought Aerith to her house, pausing at the door.

She turned to him and smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you for coming with me." She gently slid her hand over his arm before she turned and opened the door. "That's odd..." 

"What is it?"

Aerith shook her head and stepped inside, turning on one of the lights. "They're not home. They're never out this late." She glanced back at him and he stepped into the house. "Well, at the very least my mother is never out this late..." She made a face before walking into the kitchen. The water was running in the sink, and soap bubbles were overflowing onto the floor.

"Did they leave a note?" Vincent locked the door behind him before he followed her.

"No. I don't see one." She looked around and sighed, turning the sink off and grabbing the dishtowels to wipe up the floor. "This is strange. It looks like she just...vanished. She'd never leave the sink running."

Vincent frowned. "Wait here." He went to check the other rooms, but nothing was amiss, and when he returned to the kitchen, Aerith was sitting at the table, looking concerned. "She's not answering her phone. Neither is my father. Both lines say there's no service..."

He sat next to her and rested his hand on hers. "Maybe they just went out and forgot to mention it? Or maybe they have their phones off?"

"I hope it's that simple." She looked at him. "Will you stay here with me?"

He nodded.


	85. Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 67 – Night will never stay

It was a difficult night. Vincent was finally able to get Aerith to sleep, though she seemed to be having some sort of trouble with it. Her face was scrunched up, and she occasionally whimpered. All he could really do at the moment was hold her, so he did.

He was so worried about her, though, that he exhausted and fell asleep sometime after one.

He woke to a somewhat harsh kiss pressed to his lips. His eyes were a bit blurred, but he rubbed the sleep out of them and looked at Aerith. 

She leaned over him, her expression changing from one of panic to one of relief. "Oh thank the stars." She murmured before sitting back. "You weren't waking up."

"What time is it?"

"About ten. I've been trying to wake you up for over an hour. At one point I had to sick a mirror under your nose because I couldn't tell if you were breathing." She sighed. "Everything is different." 

"What do you mean?" He sat up and watched her as she walked to the window and opened it. Where there would normally be light was all darkness. 

Aerith shook her head. "It's like someone covered the sun. And...aside from this being my room, my house is a different shape."

"How is that possible?" Vincent walked to the window and peered out, frowning at the way everything looked so...mechanical and lifeless.

"It's not. That's why I was panicking because you wouldn't wake up." She sighed and looked at him. "I didn't dream last night, did you?"

"I don't remember." Vincent shook his head. "I'm going to go check it out. This can't be real."

"Let me come with you. I don't want to be alone." She took his hand.


	86. A Problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 65 – Street scene

When they walked out onto the street, Aerith clutched Vincent's hand and cringed. Everyone looked so unhappy. That had to be due to whatever it was that covered the city. And whatever it was, it explained the disappearance of her parents.

"Aerith!"

She turned, and a kind looking woman ran up to her. "Oh thank goodness. I thought something had happened to you." The woman blinked, then looked at Vincent. "Who's this?"

Aerith's brows furrowed for a moment, but then her eyes widened. This was the woman who took care of her in that other life. The one she had just grown to understand. "This is Vincent, my boyfriend." She smiled, but squeezed Vincent's hand a little. "Vincent, this is my mom." She glanced at him.

Vincent blinked, a little taken back by that, but he nodded and bowed slightly. "Pleasure to meet you, Ma'am."

The woman smiled. "I will cook something for dinner. Bring him with you okay?"

Aerith nodded and watched her walk back into the house they just walked out of. "This...isn't good." She murmured and looked around. "This...is where I grew up. The other life, I mean..."

Vincent nodded and pulled her a little closer, walking down the street with her once more. "This place feels vaguely familiar, but I don't actually remember much about it." He glanced at one of the big red posters, 'Shinra,' and winced. He lifted his free hand to his forehead. "That..."

Aerith looked at the poster and sighed. "This...didn't exist yesterday. This company...I mean...We had a Shinra in our Bio class, right? Rufus..."

Vincent nodded. Movement to the side caused him to widen his eyes and he quickly pulled Aerith closer, moving her so her back was to the wall, and cupping her cheek in his hand before he kissed her.

Her eyes widened, but she wrapped her arms around his neck. When the kiss broke, she whispered against his lips. "What was that for?" She whispered.

"They seem to be looking for you..." Vincent glanced to where several armed men were walking further down the street.

"Oh no..."


	87. Granted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 23 – Wish

Vincent grabbed Aerith's hand and pulled her back towards the house. "We need to get out of here." He said, "if they're really looking for you, we shouldn't be here."

Aerith nodded and brought him inside, pulling him up into her room and sighing. "I'm not sure how we're going to get out of here..." She murmured as she opened her closet and started pulling out some clothes. "This place seems like it has a lot of security."

"Yeah, true." Vincent nodded and sat on her bed, watching her pack a few things. "What...if I wore a suit?"

"What?"

"One of those guys with the armed men was wearing a suit. It doesn't look like many people down here have one. What if I wore one? Maybe we could sneak you out..."

Aerith shook her head. "You'd be better off with one of those uniforms, not a suit. I imagine they work for that company, so they probably know who their employees are."

He nodded. "Yeah it was a bad idea..."

Aerith shrugged and picked up her bag, walking to him and kissing the top of his head. "But it was an idea. We just need another one. I wish it was easier."

"Aerith?" The woman from earlier called up the stairs. "Are you okay?"

Aerith opened the door to her room. "Yes. Sorry." She glanced at Vincent and started down the stairs. "We can't stay for dinner."

"Oh, all right." The woman smiled, then looked at the bag. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes. We're going to Vincent's family's villa in Costa Del Sol..." She said. 

"Oh!" The woman bustled out of the room before coming back. "Here. I won these tickets, but I'll never use them."

Aerith looked down at the tickets and her eyes widened. "Thank you." She smiled and gave the woman a hug. "We'll be back in a few days."

"Take your time." The woman winked.

Aerith waited until she left the room and looked at Vincent, handing him the tickets. "Busses leave daily. This should work."


	88. Couple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 82 – Coyness

Aerith pulled her hair up into a braided bun, doing her best to look just a little different than normal so as to not arouse suspicion. Getting out of the house and to the bus depot was the most difficult part, but Vincent was very helpful with that.

At the very least, they weren't looking for someone who was supposed to be dead in the other life. And they weren't looking for a couple, but a single girl. So all the handholding, flirting, and kissing only helped them to get through check-in. 

And soon they were out. The landscape changing as the bus headed to Junon. There were no guards, just a few other couples and small groups of friends, all sitting and talking quietly. Aerith looked out the window and sighed a little, and when Vincent leaned in to check on her, she smiled and looked at him shyly. She could put on an act if she needed to, and with the way the bus driver kept looking at the girls in his mirror, she figured the closer she looked to her boyfriend, the better.

"So now what should we do?" He asked as his fingers pushed a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. 

"Not sure..." She whispered and turned her head to look at him a little better. She smiled a bit and leaned in, gently brushing his nose with hers and dropping her voice to a whisper. "But I think once we get off the bus, we'd better get on a ferry as soon as possible... The sooner we get to Costa Del Sol, the better."

"Yeah..." His eyes started to close. "And what do we do there...?"

"Hope...whatever this is ends up being over soon."


	89. Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 43 – Blade of grass

When they finally arrived in Costa Del Sol, Aerith looked around and sighed. It was much different than the town they spent time in just a few weeks ago. Yes, people were still enjoying themselves, but there was this strange feeling of dread that seemed to permeate most of the happiness. 

Fake happiness, she should say.

Vincent watched her before he turned his head to the side, his brows furrowing.

"What is it?"

"Do you hear some strange sound?" He grabbed her hand.

Aerith strained to hear. There was this low whistle. It sounded like the sound a blade of grass made if you held it and blew against it just right. She winced a little and looked up at him. "I hear it."

"Should we go towards it or avoid it?"

Aerith shook her head. "Well, first we should see to getting our room. I'm not sure I want to trust some mysterious sound after everything that's been happening."

"But you trust a talking bird?" Vincent arched a brow at her. 

"That was in a dream!" Aerith shook her head and tugged him to the inn. She handed over the passes her mother gave her, and she smiled sweetly at the innkeep. When one of the girls behind the counter seemed to be eyeing Vincent a bit too closely, she leaned into him and kissed his cheek. 

The room was pretty plain, as expected from a free trip, but that was fine. Vincent put their things down and opened the window.

The grass-whistle sound was louder now. Almost as if it was coming from right outside their room.

Louder.

It was in their room now. It had to be.

And everything went dark.


	90. Flower Fields

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7 – Blossom

Vincent woke up in a field of yellow flowers. They seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place it. He wasn't blessed (or cursed) with the memories of whatever that other life was, so he just sat there with this odd sense of déjà vu.

Aerith was laying in the field next to him, eyes closed. He leaned over her and put his hand on her cheek, growing a little concerned when she didn't even stir.

So he tried something. He leaned down and placed a kiss to her lips. It worked in fairy tales, so why couldn't it work here?

It didn't. She remained asleep, unmoving.

He sighed and sat back, looking around as the blossoms swayed in the wind. 

"Try again."

Vincent looked over. Aerith was looking at him with a slight smirk on her lips. "It worked?" He asked?

"No. I was already awake, but I wanted to see what you'd do." She sat up a little and looked around. "Hm. This is strange."

"What is?" He blinked. "Do you know where we are?"

"Yes... The last time I was here, I was dead."


	91. Rift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 93 – Vanilla

"Are we dead?"

"No. Do you feel dead?" Aerith stood and stretched her arms above her head. She looked around the field before glancing up at the sky, which was perfect and blue, not a cloud in sight.

Vincent shook his head and looked up at her."What do we do now? I don't see anything different for miles."

"That's because there's nothing different." She took a few steps forward, linking her hands behind her back. "We wait."

"For what?" Vincent sighed and stood up, moving to her side. "How long?"

"That, I have no idea." She glanced over him before offering him a smile and leaning up to kiss his cheek. "But hopefully it won't take too long."

Vincent nodded a little, but he quickly turned his head to the side. "It feels like something else is here."

Aerith arched a brow, but she started in the direction he was looking, stopping after a few steps. "Do you smell that?"

"What?"

"It smells like vanilla..." She reached her hand out in front of her, and almost yelped when it seemed like her hand disappeared into the air. "What is this?" 

Vincent quickly moved to her side and grabbed her other hand. "That can't be..." But she was already stepping through, and his grip on her hand caused him to go stumbling after her.

"It's about time." A young man stood in front of them in what looked like a bakery of some sort. "I've been calling you two for hours."

Aerith blinked a little. "Who...?"

"My name's Hiro." The man grinned. "I'm your son."


	92. Merge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 75 – Candy; sweets

Vincent did his best to conceal his shock, but he didn't succeed. He ran a hand over his face and sat in a chair, staring at the boy who just claimed to be a child of his, though he didn't look like he was any younger than the two of them.

Aerith was looking around the bakery, her brow arched. "Where is this?"

"The shop. Well, it used to be your flower shop..." Hiro shook his head and glanced at Vincent before moving to the sink and getting him a glass of water. "But Mi and I aren't very good with plants, so when we fixed the mess the last crisis left, we pooled our money and converted it to this bakery." He set the glass down in front of Vincent. "Well, after I spent a lot of nights working at the bar..."

"Tifa's bar...?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Hiro handed a cupcake to Aerith before he moved back to the ovens. "Mi forbid me to work there because too many girls were hitting on me. Or so she says. I never saw it."

"Mi?" Vincent arched a brow. "Who's that?"

"Oh yeah. Mom remembers, but you don't. Mira. Uncle Cid and Aunt Shera's daughter. My wife."

Aerith smiled a little sadly as she peeled the wrapping away from the cupcake, tears springing to her eyes. "How nice..."

"Oh. Don't worry about it. This is just a dream." Hiro looked at her and shrugged. "That cupcake won't taste like anything. Mi and I aren't old enough yet."

"Then how?"

"It's easier this way." Hiro shrugged and grinned at Vincent. "We're only sixteen. This is what we'll probably be like if you don't come back soon."

"How do we come back?" Aerith tasted some of the cupcake, but Hiro was right, it tasted like nothing. 

"You have to wake up. We did stop the crisis. It was difficult, but we did it. The realities are overlapping again, which is why Midgar reverted to the way it was." Hiro nodded. "In fact, the merge is almost complete. When you wake up from this, you should be in the living room in Edge. That's where you vanished from, anyway."

"And if we're not?" Vincent frowned. "Then what?"

"Then...Mira and I find you? I don't know." The man grinned and winked. "You should be waking soon." He moved and kissed Aerith's cheek, then clapped Vincent on the shoulder. "Sleep well, pops."

"Wha—"

It went dark.


	93. Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 98 – Ashes

When Vincent woke, he was laying on a hardwood floor. There was a broken coffee table next to him, and it smelled faintly of campfire. He lifted himself off the floor and looked around. This room was old, dingy. It almost looked as though it had been burning, though he saw no trace of ashes, no charred wood, nothing. 

Aerith was on the floor, but she must have awoken before him because she was sitting up. She looked a little different. Her hair was twisted into a high ponytail. She wore pink and red, though it seemed muted. Her eyes were a brighter teal than he ever remembered. She looked at him with a sad expression.

"It's over." She said simply, holding a small toy car in her hand. It was faded and weathered, but she clutched at it like a lifeline. "This was Hiro's..." She managed before the sobs overtook her and she curled in on herself.

He reached out and hugged her, only just noticing the black leather that clung to his arms, or the fact that his hair was about three times as long as it used to be. He pressed his face into her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Shh...Aerith..."

She kept clutching at the toy as she turned to bury her face in Vincent's chest. "S...Sorry..." she managed between sobs. "It's just..."

"I know."

"What the fuck?" Another voice came from the couch and Vincent turned to see Cid, looking way more grizzled than he usually did. "What the fuck happened?"

"Stop with the language..." Shera muttered before she noticed Aerith sobbing into Vincent's arm, and her eyes widened. "Why...does this...place look..."

"Like no one's been in here in years?" Tifa supplied from the floor, where she was sitting with Cloud, who looked just as disoriented. Her hand went to her stomach and she looked down. "What happened to us? The last thing I remember is that flash..."

"Well, we didn't die at least." Cloud murmured, standing and looking around the room. "Did we sleep for a while or something? I had some pretty weird dreams..."

Aerith shook her head and sighed. "No...We—"

"Hey! They're back!" A girl's voice sounded from inside the shop, and the others turned in time to see the door fling open. A blond girl, no more than fourteen or fifteen ran into the room. "Woah!" She stumbled forward when a boy about the same age crashed into her back.

"They made it..." He said so softly, it was almost a whisper. He pushed around the girl and walked to Vincent and Aerith, looking at the two of them. "Hey..." He rested a hand on Vincent's shoulder. "Mom...It's ok."

"Mom?" Shera's eyes widened. "Is that..."

"Yeah, Ma. That's Hiro." The girl was standing by them, though she yelped when Cid pulled her down and started crying loudly into her shoulder. "Ack! Pa. Stop it!"

Shera's hand trembled as she reached out to touch the girl's face. "Mira...?"

"Yeah."

Cloud arched a brow, but helped Tifa to her feet. "How...long was it like this?"

"About twelve years." Hiro said as he kept crouching awkwardly by his parents. 

"Hiro and I were the only ones here who didn't vanish. Well, in this house. Most everyone else was still okay. Well, cept Aunt Yuffie and Red."

"And Mr. Reeve too." Hiro stood and dusted himself off. "And some other people. We're not really sure how many."

Aerith lifted her head and wiped her tears. "But we're back."

"Yeah. You're back. The crisis is over." Mira smiled.


	94. Settling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6 – Green tea

They all sat in Tifa's bar in silence. Hiro and Mira bustled about and got drinks for everyone. And that was it. Everything was just so different. While Aerith's shop had fallen into disuse, and all of her flowers stopped growing the day she vanished, the bar was still clean and functional.

Aerith looked down at her cup of tea and sighed a little. Vincent rested a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't look up.

"There was nothing you could do." Mira looked at them from behind the counter. "Hiro and I figured it all out with Shelke." She shook her head. "The guy who did this purposely targeted those who came in contact with Sephiroth, which is why you all went. But we fixed it, and it's fine now...no one's in danger."

"Shelke?"

"Oh yeah. She was the one who found us in the house, and she brought us here." Hiro murmured as he washed some glasses. 

Aerith continued to stare down into her tea, her hand trembling a little as she held the cup. "Shelke raised you?" She did her best not to let her voice tremble, but she was sure the others heard it.

Vincent sighed and rubbed her shoulder a little. "Aerith..." He glanced at the others before he leaned in closer. "Hey..."

"No..." She stood and pushed away from him. "Excuse me..." She turned and walked right out of the bar. 

Shera stood and grabbed Vincent's arm as he went to follow her. "Don't. You'll only make it worse." She shook her head. "I'll go. I know how she's feeling right now." She walked after her.

"Did...we mess up?" Mira bit her lip.

"Nah. It's not that, sweetie." Cid swirled his whiskey a little and looked at her. "They're just moms who found out they missed their kids' lives. I mean, your dads are upset too, but moms take that stuff harder, you know?" He managed a bit of a grin. "We can still spoil ya rotten, but they probably feel like they've missed it all."

Mira pouted. 

"It's harder on Aerith..." Vincent murmured. "She never got along with Shelke."

"That's because Shelke was in love with you." Cloud muttered. "And you had no idea."

Vincent slumped a little. "I know. I never meant to upset anyone."

Tifa shrugged. "Everyone knows that, Vincent. You're too dense to intentionally hurt someone." She stood from where she was crouched behind the counter. "Besides, Shelke's married now, so you don't even have to worry about it." 

Vincent nodded, but seemed unconvinced. 

"...So that's where Hiro gets it from." Mira laughed. "He's almost as dense as his father, then."

Hiro coughed and looked away from everyone, but it was obvious he was blushing. "Shut up..." He muttered, just barely audible. He blushed more when Cid let out a loud laugh.

Shera pulled Aerith in a few moments later, and they both returned to their seats. Aerith immediately looked back into her green tea and kept quiet. 

"She's ok." Shera answered before Vincent could even ask. Aerith nodded a little.

"All right." Vincent leaned in and kissed the side of Aerith's head, closing his eyes for a moment before he straightened up and watched Hiro help Tifa behind the bar, while Mira sat on the counter by her parents and tinkered with her phone. 

"Now what?" Cloud asked when the silence settled in again. "I mean...Obviously Tifa and I have this place. But what about you guys?" He looked at Cid. "Back home...or...?"

"We don't have a house back there." Mira shook her head. "I had all of Daddy's stuff moved somewhere secret, but I had to sell the house..." She shifted. "I still have all the money though!"

Shera chuckled. "That's fine. That house was too small anyway." She whacked Cid's arm a little when he started to pout. "And she just said she put all your stuff somewhere secret, so it's fine. Don't be a moron."

"We've still got the shop...but the flowers are gone." Hiro glanced at his parents. "I've already got some people cleaning it up, so we can go back there."

"Okay." Aerith nodded and sighed again.


	95. Struggle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 85 – Teaching

"No, like this." Hiro was sitting on the couch with Vincent, showing him for the twentieth time how to use his new phone.

Aerith was in the kitchen, baking some bread and washing the dishes. They had been back for a month now, and the house was cleaned up, but the shop was still a mess. She gave up on trying to regrow the flowers, so the greenhouses were replaced with a patio and smaller herb garden. It was nice, but it still felt strange to her.

"No. That's not it." 

Aerith looked out the doorway and smiled a little sadly. Watching Hiro teach Vincent was bittersweet. They got along, which was definitely nice, but children shouldn't have to teach their parents, right? She sighed a little and went back to the stove, looking at all the buttons and controls that she wouldn't have had to worry about earlier. 

"Are you okay?" Vincent's voice came from behind her and she jumped. "Sorry. Hiro received a message from Mira, so he's off in his own world."

Aerith turned to look at him and she smiled faintly. "Oh, that's nice."

"You're not okay..." Vincent sighed and pulled her into his arms, holding her close. "I know, it's difficult, but I'm here okay?"

She managed a little nod and rested her cheek against his chest, her arms coming up to wrap around him. "I'm okay. I mean, as okay as I can be. Thank you." She closed her eyes when he kissed the top of her head. "You seem to be doing okay?"

"I hide it better," he whispered into her hair, "but don't worry about me. I can distract myself with bonding with him...since he's a boy at that age..." He chuckled a little.

"Oh, like you had a slew of girlfriends when you were fourteen?" Aerith looked up at him and arched a brow. "Playboy."

"Hm. I was kind of cute." He grinned.

"Do you two really need to flirt in the kitchen?" Hiro stood in the doorway, one brow arched as he looked at his parents. "Mira asked if we wanted to come over for dinner. Well, none of them cooked, they ordered out, so it should be safe to eat."

"All right. Once the bread is done, we can go over." Aerith stepped back from Vincent and smiled.


	96. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 35 – Snowdrop

Vincent came home one evening with a small bouquet of white flowers. Snowdrops, according to the woman at the flowershop on the other side of Edge.

He moved quietly into the kitchen to give them to Aerith, but she wasn't there. The oven was off, and there was some food cooling on the top of the stove, but otherwise there was no movement. 

"Aerith?" He called out and went room to room.

Nothing.

He frowned, but went to put the flowers in a vase, putting it on the kitchen table and once again resuming his search.

And then he heard it. A bang from the shop. He ran to the door and flung it open, his eyes wide.

Hiro stood in front of the counter, a sledgehammer in his hand. "Oh, hey dad." He said, grinning sheepishly. 

"What...are you doing?"

"Demolition?" Hiro lifted the sledgehammer again. "Mom went to the store, she'll be back soon. You were looking for her, right?" Bang.

"Oh, yes. Thank you." He blinked and watched Hiro for a moment before he went back into the house.

"Vincent?" Aerith poked her head out from the kitchen. "Did you put these Snowdrops here?" She smiled a little. "Thank you. They're lovely."

Vincent walked into the kitchen and looked at her, then at the flowers and back to her again. "You like them? I wasn't sure, but they looked nice, and I hadn't seen them before.."

"Yes." She leaned up and kissed him. "You picked a perfect flower."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Snowdrops mean hope." Aerith smiled and went to the stove to put the finishing touches on dinner. "I feel much better, now."


	97. Dinner in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 – Romance

Aerith curled up on the window seat, her book closed and tucked against her leg as she looked out the window and watched the rain drum against the glass. Hiro had wanted to go see Mira, so Vincent took him out, as he didn't want the boy going alone in the rain.

So that left her here, a few candles lit, the rain pit-patting a soft rhythm against the house. Aerith only read a few pages of her book before she closed it and watched the rain.

No lightning, no thunder, just a bit of a shower. She sighed and rested her arms on her knees, her head moving to rest against her arms as she continued to watch. The candles flickered, soft light dancing around the room.

When the door opened several minutes later, she saw Vincent's form in the reflection, so she didn't even turn to look. "Where's Hiro?" She kept her head on her arms, her eyes focusing on his image.

"At Tifa and Cloud's. Cid's going to bring him home later." 

"Oh. All right." Aerith's eyes focused on the rain again. 

Vincent moved, shuffling something to the coffee table. Aerith turned a little and watched him pull out small containers, watched him set up two plates, and light more candles, and pour some wine. 

"What's this?" Aerith untucked herself from the window seat and came over, sitting next to him on the couch and looking at him. 

"Dinner." He looked at her and handed her a plate, smiling. 

She took it and curled up again, eating a little and smiling at him. "Thank you..."

Vincent nodded and watched her for a moment before he ate a bit as well. "I can't cook, but I wanted to.."

"Thank you." Aerith leaned down and kissed him, smiling softly. "This is so nice. Thank you."


	98. Unspoken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 63 – Desire

"How come you never ask mom for anything?" Hiro looked up at Vincent as he worked in the shop. 

"Hm?" Vincent stopped hammering and turned to look at his son. "What do you mean?"

"Well, mom sometimes asks you for things, or to do things for her. She asked you to help her redesign the house so we could turn this into a bakery, but you never ask her for anything?"

Vincent blinked, but he shook his head. "That's because your mother is creepily psychic. She knows what I want before I know I want it."

"That's not possible." Hiro shook his head. 

"Sure it is. Think about what you want for lunch, maybe something we wouldn't necessarily just have in the house." Vincent arched a brow at him.

Hiro blinked, but his brows furrowed. "Okay..."

"Now just wait." Vincent turned back to the wall and continued to hammer in the shelves he was working on. 

Aerith came into the shop a few minutes later, all smiles. "I'm heading to the store. Hiro, do you want anything other than clam chowder for lunch? Should I pick up some crackers or bread, too?"

"What the hell?" Hiro's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"I told you." 

Aerith looked between the two before she shook her head and went over to her son, resting her hands on his shoulders and kissing his forehead. "And I found some things for the shop I think you'll like. They're in the living room." She walked to Vincent and leaned up to kiss him. "And you, stop freaking your son out." She patted his cheek gently. "The builders will be coming tomorrow to work on the second storey. It's a bad idea for me to be here then, so I'll be with Tifa at the bar." She smiled and stepped back.

"Why would it be bad for you to be here?" Vincent blinked, glancing at Hiro, who was still staring at Aerith in shock.

"Well, I've got something for you, too." She smiled a little and rested her hand on her stomach. "Something you wanted."

"WHAT?" Hiro's eyes widened.

Aerith laughed and stepped out. "I'll be back later. Behave."


	99. Calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 39 – Best of all

"So is it a brother or a sister?" Hiro was sitting on the couch next to Aerith, a bit too cute and excited for a growing teenage boy. 

"I'm not sure yet." She smiled a little and looked at him. "Are you okay with this? I mean, we couldn't..." She shook her head.

"It's ok." Hiro nodded. "You didn't abandon me, you were taken, and I got you back." He took her hand and smiled a little. "I'm not going to be mad or jealous or anything. That's not fair to anyone." 

Aerith looked at him and lifted her other hand to push some of his messy brown hair out of his face. "You're such a kind boy..." Tears came to her eyes, but she blinked them back. 

"Hiro, did you make your mother cry?" Vincent came into the room with a large box in his arms. "This was on the doorstep."

"No, he didn't." Aerith smiled. "Those must be the utensils I bought for the shop. You can just leave them there." 

Vincent nodded and disappeared again.

"Are you okay with turning the shop into a bakery?" Hiro blinked. "How did you know that's what I wanted?"

Aerith smiled. "I saw you in a dream. A future you. A strong, caring, compassionate adult who ran this little bakery." She touched his cheek again. "You called out to me didn't you?"

"Sometimes...but I don't remember doing that." Hiro shook his head a little. "Maybe it was a future me."

"Well, if that future you is even a fraction of the wonderful young man you are now, he'll be a great person." She smiled and leaned in, kissing the top of his head. "My precious little boy."

Hiro blinked, but blushed darkly. "Mom..." He whined a little.

"You're embarrassing him." Vincent chuckled as he came back into the room. 

"Oh, am I?" Aerith sat back and looked at Hiro. "Do I embarrass you?"

"No!" Hiro shook his head quickly. "No. I mean...Not like that!" He waved his hands a little. "I'm going to go to my room!" He jumped up and ran out of there faster than ever.

"Poor kid." Vincent shook his head and took Hiro's vacated spot on the couch. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. No need to fuss." She smiled at him. "You two are incredibly alike."

"That should be expected, shouldn't it?"

"I suppose." Aerith shrugged a little and stood, glancing at him. "I'm going to go make dinner."

"All right, but..." He reached up and took her hand, bringing it to his lips. "Don't hesitate to tell me if you need anything."


	100. Soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 91 – Endless love

"You shouldn't be moving around this much." Vincent moved to try to stop Aerith as she moved around the new kitchen, checking everything. It had been almost eight months since she had told him of her pregnancy, and she was due any day now, but that didn't seem to stop her. 

"And you should know that you telling me that isn't going to stop me from doing it." Aerith murmured as she wiped down the counters. "I'm not good at not doing anything. You know this."

"I know, but at least let me or Hiro do some of this."

"Hiro's at the store picking up a few more things. You're horrible at cleaning." Aerith glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled. "Just let me, okay? I don't like feeling useless."

"All right." Vincent held his hands up and stepped back so she wouldn't accusing him of hovering, and he sat down on one of the stools off to the side. "You're not useless, you know."

"I know, but when you don't let me do things, I feel that way." Aerith finished with the counter and turned to look at him. "After everything that's happened, being treated like glass is the last thing I want."

He nodded and looked at her. "Though you should take it easier. You're almost..."

"I know, and you're worried. You're afraid I'll overwork myself." She shook her head. "I know my limits..." She put the cloth down and walked over to him. "But it's sweet of you to worry."

"Of course I'm going to worry..." Vincent looked at her. 

She smiled and leaned in, kissing his forehead. "I know. You're sweet. But you won't have to worry. You can't get rid of me that easily. Death didn't do it. Cleaning up certainly isn't" She smiled.

He took one of her hands and held it. "I know."


	101. Finally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 101 – One hundred and one kisses

It had been a year since they returned from that strange crisis. A year since they came back to their lives, their child mostly grown. 

Aerith sat on the couch cradling her daughter as she slept in her arms. She watched Vincent sort through some of the gifts they received, and Hiro was in the kitchen, making something or other.

She never thought this could be possible. When they first came back, her world was so dark, she didn't know how to get out of it. And then this happened. This support. This happiness. She didn't think she could feel this again, not after failing her son so much.

But there was no failure. There was no disappointment. 

Vincent came over and sat next to her. He leaned in and kissed her cheek before he kissed the baby's head, and he smiled.

There was nothing wrong now. Just happiness.

Finally.


End file.
